Dynamic arrest during the spreading of a yield stress fluid drop

When a liquid drop is gently deposited on a wetting solid surface, it spreads due to capillary forces until it reaches a thermodynamical equilibrium set by the relative surface energies of the system. We investigate here experimentally the spreading ability of drops made of yield stress fluids, which flow only if the applied stress is above a finite value. We observe that in this case, after a spreading phase, the motion stops and a well-defined contact angle can be measured. This contact angle depends on the rheological properties of the fluid and in particular on its yield stress, on the drop radius and on the hydrodynamic boundary condition at the surface. These results are quantitatively compared to an analysis showing that, due to the yield stress of the fluid, a mechanical equilibrium is indeed reached which does not correspond to the thermodynamical equilibrium.