Maximal liquid bridges between horizontal cylinders

DOI10.1098/RSPA.2016.0233zbMATH Open1371.76069arXiv1606.09498OpenAlexW2463145430WikidataQ52385829 ScholiaQ52385829MaRDI QIDQ5363643FDOQ5363643

Herbert E. Huppert, Jerome A. Neufeld, Himantha Cooray

Publication date: 29 September 2017

Published in: Proceedings of the Royal Society A: Mathematical, Physical and Engineering Sciences (Search for Journal in Brave)

Abstract: We investigate two-dimensional liquid bridges trapped between pairs of identical horizontal cylinders. The cylinders support forces due to surface tension and hydrostatic pressure which balance the weight of the liquid. The shape of the liquid bridge is determined by analytically solving the nonlinear Laplace-Young equation. Parameters that maximize the trapping capacity (defined as the cross-sectional area of the liquid bridge) are then determined. The results show that these parameters can be approximated with simple relationships when the radius of the cylinders is small compared to the capillary length. For such small cylinders, liquid bridges with the largest cross sectional area occur when the centre-to-centre distance between the cylinders is approximately twice the capillary length. The maximum trapping capacity for a pair of cylinders at a given separation is linearly related to the separation when it is small compared to the capillary length. The meniscus slope angle of the largest liquid bridge produced in this regime is also a linear function of the separation. We additionally derive approximate solutions for the profile of a liquid bridge making use of the linearized Laplace-Young equation. These solutions analytically verify the above relationships obtained for the maximization of the trapping capacity.

Full work available at URL: https://arxiv.org/abs/1606.09498

Mathematics Subject Classification ID

Capillarity (surface tension) for incompressible viscous fluids (76D45)

Cited In (4)

• Title not available (Why is that?)
• Cylindrical liquid bridges squeezed between parallel plates: Exact Stokes flow solutions and hydrodynamic forces
• Cylindrical liquid bridges
• Wetting of liquid droplets on two parallel fibers with different radii

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