On a thermodynamically consistent diffuse interface model for two-phase incompressible flows with non-matched densities: Dynamics of moving contact lines, surface diffusion, and mass transfer
We examine a thermodynamically consistent diffuse interface model for two-phase incompressible viscous flows in a smooth bounded domain Ω ⊂ R d ( d ∈ { 2 , 3 } ). This model characterizes the evolution of free interfaces in contact with the solid boundary, specifically addressing the phenomenon of moving contact lines. The associated evolution system comprises a nonhomogeneous Navier–Stokes equation for the (volume) averaged fluid velocity v , nonlinearly coupled with a convective Cahn–Hilliard equation governing the order parameter φ . Notably, for the boundary dynamics, the current model incorporates surface diffusion, a variable contact angle between the diffuse interface and the solid boundary, as well as mass transfer between bulk and surface. This material transfer adheres to a mass conservation law encompassing both bulk and surface contributions. In the general scenario of non-matched densities, we establish the existence of global weak solutions with finite energy in both two and three dimensions.
Authors
- Ciprian G. Gal (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6408-2565)
- Zhigang Wu (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6782-9249)
- Maoyin Lv
Institutions
- Florida International University (US)
- Fudan University (CN)
Publication Details
- Journal
- Journal of Differential Equations
- Published
- 2026-02-12
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jde.2026.114203
- Primary Topic
- Navier-Stokes equation solutions
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 0.00