The hydrodynamic phase field model is applied to the problem of film spreading on a solid surface. The disjoining potential, responsible for modification of the fluid properties near a three-phase contact line, is computed from the solvability conditions of the density field equation with appropriate boundary conditions imposed on the solid support. The equations describing the motion of a spreading film are derived in the lubrication approximation (in the limit of small contact angles). In the case of quasiequilibrium spreading, it is shown that the correct sharp-interface limit is obtained, and sample solutions are obtained by numerical integration. It is further shown that evaporation or condensation may strongly affect the dynamics near the contact line, and that it is necessary to account for kinetic retardation of the interphase transport to build up a consistent theory.

• Received 4 October 1999

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevE.62.2480