WETTING KINETICS OF LIQUID ALUMINUM ON AN AL2O3 SURFACE

The wetting process of a liquid aluminium drop on a solid Al2O3 surfac e has been investigated. Two different models have been proposed: a hy drodynamic model based on the effect of viscosity as well as a diffusi on model which considers diffusional effects. The prediction from the models was compared with experiments. It was found that the wetting pr ocess of a liquid aluminium drop on an Al2O3 surface can be represente d by the diffusion model rather than by the hydrodynamic model. In con trast, the hydrodynamic model could be employed to describe the wettin g process of a liquid polymer drop on a solid.