Forced and natural wetting on non-uniform surfaces: overcoming obstacles to predictive modelling

The purpose of the proposed research is to realise the burgeoning potential of exciting mesoscopic and multiscale modelling techniques to address industrially and fundamentally important fluid flow problems that have hitherto eluded all attempts at practically useful, predictive modelling. The primary focus is on the forced wetting of 'real' solid surfaces, i.e. those exhibiting roughness, porosity and/or chemical heterogeneity - a class of flows that is enormously important in the coating and printing industries, among many other applications. The vision for the proposed project is to address current obstacles to the successful application of mesoscopic modelling to such flows, and thereby to deliver a fundamental change in process modelling capabilities, permitting for the first time the accurate prediction of the influences of given surface morphologies and properties on the performance of the wetting process, and the impact upon the end product. Success in this project will also lead to a better understanding of the capabilities of mesoscopic modelling, yielding benefits in a wide range of applications, from microfluidic devices to enhanced oil recovery and carbon dioxide sequestration, and providing the means to perform detailed proof-of-concept simulations for new technologies.