COMPUTER-SIMULATION STUDIES OF FLUID SPREADING

The spreading characteristics of a fluid wedge on an attractive substrate are studied with the Monte Carlo simulations in a horizontal solid-on-solid model and compared with the Langevin theory. In the partially wet case, relaxation to a stable wetting angle is observed, whereas in the completely wet system a precursor film is found to behave linearly in time and the layers next to the precursor as (t log t)1/2, in agreement with theory. The layers above the precursor film of molecular thickness seem to show diffusive fluid profiles as found previously in continuum theory.