Computer Simulation of Liquid Wetting Dynamics in Fiber Structures Using the Ising Model

We present in this paper a method which applies the so-called Ising model and Kawasaki thermodynamics, combined with the Monte Carlo computer simulation technique to study the liquid-fiber interaction and the wetting behavior of fiber networks. The various types of interactions occurring during a wetting process in a fiber mass are analyzed, and their individual contributions towards the Hamiltonian system are derived. The criterion for energy state exchange between the Ising spin variables is given as the critical step for the wetting simulation. The procedures of the simulation algorithm are provided. Various predictions of the wetting process including wetting of a fiber network, the spreading of a liquid drop on a single fiber as well as a brief parametric study are included in this paper.