Comparison of energy stable simulation of moving contact line problems using a thermodynamically consistent Cahn–Hilliard Navier–Stokes model

Liquid droplets sliding along solid surfaces are a frequently observed phenomenon in nature, e.g., raindrops on a leaf, and in everyday situations, e.g., drops of water in a drinking glass. To model this situation, we use a phase field approach. The bulk model is given by the thermodynamically consistent Cahn–Hilliard Navier–Stokes model from Abels et al. (2012) [8]. To model the contact line dynamics we apply the generalized Navier boundary condition for the fluid and the dynamically advected boundary contact angle condition for the phase field as derived in Qian et al. (2006) [7]. In recent years several schemes were proposed to solve this model numerically. While they widely differ in terms of complexity, they all fulfill certain basic properties when it comes to thermodynamic consistency. However, an accurate comparison of the influence of the schemes on the moving contact line is rarely found. Therefore, we thoughtfully compare the quality of the numerical results obtained with three different schemes and two different bulk energy potentials. Especially, we discuss the influence of the different schemes on the apparent contact angles of a sliding droplet.