Complete wetting and drying at sinusoidal walls
Phys. Rev. E 112, 015502 – Published 9 July, 2025
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1103/2d7c-6t3t
Abstract
We investigate complete wetting and drying at sinusoidally corrugated solid walls, focusing on the effects of wall geometry and interaction range. Two distinct interaction models are considered: one incorporating only short-ranged (SR) forces (applied to drying), and another including long-ranged (LR) van der Waals interactions (applied to wetting). The SR model is analyzed within the framework of nonlocal Hamiltonian theory by Parry et al., while the LR model is treated using a sharp-kink approximation. In both cases we derive scaling relations that describe the dependence of the adsorbed layer's width and morphology on the wall's geometric parameters as the system approaches two-phase coexistence. We identify distinct scaling regimes determined by the degree of wall corrugation and highlight the contrasting effects of SR and LR interactions. Theoretical predictions are corroborated by numerical results from classical density functional theory.
