Dynamics of contact line motion during the wetting of rough surfaces and correlation with topographical surface parameters

Dynamics of contact line motion and wettability is essential in many industrial applications such as liquid coating, lubrication, printing, painting, condensation, etc. However, the wettability of surfaces depends not only on liquid–solid chemical properties but also can be strongly affected by surface roughness. As a practical application of controlled wettability, we can mention the self-cleaning surfaces, protective clothing, microfluidics devices, electro wetting, etc. In this article, we experimentally investigate the spreading of droplets deposited onto rough surfaces. Anisotropic surfaces were prepared by abrasive polishing on the following materials: aluminium alloy AA7064, titanium alloy Ti-6Al-4V, steel AISI 8630, copper alloy UNS C17000, machinable glass ceramic, and poly-methylmethacrylate. Topographical 2D parameters were calculated according to the following standards, defining Geometrical Product Specifications (GPS): ISO 4287, ISO 12085, ISO 13565, ISO 12780, and ISO 12181. The influence of topographical parameters on wettability and spreading phenomenon has been evaluated by statistical covariance analysis. The following parameters have strong influence on fluid spreading on rough surfaces: Rmr is the relative material ratio of the roughness profile, Trc is the microgeometric material ratio, Pmr is the relative material ratio of the raw profile, Kr is the mean slope of the roughness motifs, RONt is the peak to valley roundness deviation, and Psk is the Skewness of the raw profile. The physical meaning of selected parameters is discussed, and Kr (the mean slope of the roughness motifs) is selected as the most important and physically meaningful parameter. It has been found that for all tested materials, fluid spreading shows increasing tendency when mean slope of the roughness motifs (Kr) increases.