화학공학소재연구정보센터
Journal of Colloid and Interface Science, Vol.200, No.2, 197-202, 1998
Fine structure of meniscus of a wetting liquid
Equilibrium of a capillary meniscus near a wetting film on a solid in a gravitational field is considered. Unlike previous studies, the present study proves that the fine meniscus studies in a gravitational field is a universal feature-it takes place in a wide variety of problems. In the general case, the capillary meniscus is at a certain distance from the wetting film and does not intersect it. The relation for the minimum distance from the arbitrary meniscus to the solid generalizes the Derjaguin formula for a flat slit. An equation that optimally approximates the meniscus with due account of the contribution of the meniscus/film transition region is derived. A refined solution to the problem of a meniscus on a vertical plate is derived within the perturbation theory. Both gravity and nonuniformity of the vertical static film above a capillary-gravitational meniscus do not affect the minimum distance (the influence is less than 0.0001). A general method for solving sophisticated problems of capillary equilibrium in gravitational field is proposed.