title: Fluid contact angle on solid surfaces: Role of multiscale surface roughness.
abstract: We present a simple analytical model and an exact numerical study which explain the role of roughness on different length scales for the fluid contact angle on rough solid surfaces. We show that there is no simple relation between the distribution of surface slopes and the fluid contact angle. In particular, surfaces with the same distribution of slopes may exhibit very different contact angles depending on the range of length-scales over which the surfaces have roughness.
authors.affiliation: Department of Mechanics, Mathematics and Management, Politecnico di Bari, v.le Japigia 182, I-70126 Bari, Italy.
authors.forename: F
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Bottiglione
authors.affiliation: Department of Mechanics, Mathematics and Management, Politecnico di Bari, v.le Japigia 182, I-70126 Bari, Italy.
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Carbone
authors.affiliation: Peter Grünberg Institut-1, FZ-Jülich, 52425 Jülich, Germany.
authors.forename: B N J
authors.initials: BN
authors.lastname: Persson