Influence of viscosity ratio and wettability on droplet displacement behavior: A mesoscale analysis

Fundamental understanding of droplet dynamics and the concomitant implications of wall wettability and viscosity are critical in the areas like enhanced oil recovery and clean energy conversion. In this work, mesoscopic illustration of droplet dynamics in a channel, based on the two-phase lattice Boltzmann model is presented in order to reveal the role of viscosity-wettability interaction. The impact of critical physicochemical determinants, including capillary number, viscosity ratio and droplet size is explored. Temporal evolution of wetted length and wetted area for a combination of viscosity ratios and wettability scenarios is furnished in detail in order to elucidate the droplet displacement dynamics. Droplet behavioral patterns stemming from uniform and mixed-wet wall characteristics in conjunction with capillary number and viscosity ratio have been investigated.