van der Waals interaction between a moving nano-cylinder and a liquid thin film

We study the static and dynamic interaction between a horizontal cylindrical nano-probe and a thin liquid film. The effects of the physical and geometrical parameters, with a special focus on the film thickness, the probe speed, and the distance between the probe and the free surface are analyzed. D...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Soft matter 2017-05, Vol.13 (2), p.3822-383
Main Authors: Ledesma-Alonso, René, Raphaël, Elie, Salez, Thomas, Tordjeman, Philippe, Legendre, Dominique
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Dynamic tests
Film thickness
Liquid films
Liquids
Lubrication
Mathematical analysis
Nanostructure
Physics
Thin films
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Summary:We study the static and dynamic interaction between a horizontal cylindrical nano-probe and a thin liquid film. The effects of the physical and geometrical parameters, with a special focus on the film thickness, the probe speed, and the distance between the probe and the free surface are analyzed. Deformation profiles have been computed numerically from a Reynolds lubrication equation, coupled to a modified Young-Laplace equation, which takes into account the probe/liquid and the liquid/substrate non-retarded van der Waals interactions. We have found that the film thickness and the probe speed have a significant effect on the threshold separation distance below which the jump-to-contact instability is triggered. These results encourage the use of horizontal cylindrical nano-probes to scan thin liquid films, in order to determine either the physical or geometrical properties of the latter, through the measurement of interaction forces. The interaction between a cylindrical nano-probe translating at constant speed and a thin liquid film is modelled. The parametric analysis unveils a dynamic threshold separation distance, below which the jump-to-contact instability occurs. The wake, left behind by the nano-probe, is observed and studied.
ISSN:1744-683X
1744-6848
DOI:10.1039/c7sm00467b