Title: The coarsening dynamics of dewetting fluid films

Dr. Tom Witelski
Department of Mathematics, Duke University

Abstract:
The study of instabilities of thin fluid films on solid surfaces is of 
great importance in understanding coating flows. These instabilities lead 
to rupture, the formation of dry spots, and further morphological changes 
that promote non-uniformity of coatings; these behaviors in unstable thin 
films are generally called dewetting. Following rupture and subsequent 
transient behavior, the long-time structure of films takes the form of an 
array of droplets. The evolution of this system can be represented in terms 
of coupled ODEs for the masses and positions of the droplets. Regimes where 
droplet coarsening by each of two mechanisms (collision and collapse) are 
identified, and power laws for the statistics of the coarsening processes 
are explained.  This is joint work with Karl Glasner, University of Arizona.