The evolution of capillary forces during evaporation and the corresponding changes in the geometrical characteristics of liquid (water) bridges between two glass spheres with constant separation are examined experimentally. For comparison, the liquid bridges were also tested for mechanical extension (at constant volume). The obtained results reveal substantial differences between the evolution of capillary force due to evaporation and the evolution due to extension of the liquid bridges. During both evaporation and extension, the change of interparticle capillary forces consists in a force decrease to zero either gradually or via rupture of the bridge. At small separations between the grains (short & wide bridges) during evaporation and at large volumes during extension, there is a slight initial increase of force. During evaporation, the capillary force decreases slowly at the beginning of the process and quickly at the end of the process; during extension, the capillary force decreases quickly at the beginning and slowly at the end of the process. Rupture during evaporation of the bridges occurs most abruptly for bridges with wider separations (tall and thin), sometimes occurring after only 25 % of the water volume was evaporated. The evolution (pinning/depinning) of two geometrical characteristics of the bridge, the diameter of the threephase contact line and the "apparent" contact angle at the solid/liquid/gas interface, seem to control the capillary force evolution. The findings are of relevance to the mechanics of unsaturated granular media in the final phase of drying.

Dynamic variables characterizing evolution during evaporation of capillary bridge between two spheres are analyzed. The variables include: average Laplace pressure, pressure resulting force, surface tension force and total capillary force calculated based on the previously reported geometrical variables using Young-Laplace law [1,2]. This is the first time to our knowledge that Laplace pressure is calculated from the measured bridge curvatures along the process of evaporation and compared to experimental measurement data. A comparison with the experimental data from analogous capillary bridge extension tests is also shown and discussed. The behavior of evaporating liquid bridges is seen as strongly dependent on the grain separation. Initial negative Laplace pressure at small separations is seen to significantly augment during an advanced stage of evaporation, but to turn into positive pressure, after an instability toward the end of the process, and prior to rupture. At larger separations the pressure is positive all the time, changing a little, but rupturing early. Rupture in all cases occurs at positive pressure. However, because of the evolution of the surface area of contact, the resultant total capillary forces are always tensile, and decreasing toward zero in all cases. Comparison between measured total resultant capillary forces and those calculated from the Young-Laplace law is very good, except for some discrepancies at very small separations (below 50 μm). Up to four consecutive instabilities of capillary bridge are seen developing at some sphere separations. They are: re-pinning-induced suction (pressure) instability; Rayleigh nodoid/ catenoid/unduloid unstable transition, associated with zero-pressure; Rayleigh unduloid/cylinder unstable transition, associated with the formation of a liquid-wire; and lastly, a pinching instability of the liquid-wire, associated with the bridge rupture. Rupture of the bridges is seen at large separations to occur quite early, at only 1/4-1/3 of the initial water volume evaporated. At smallest separations, rupture occurs in a seemingly unstable way when water evaporates from the bridge thinnest section of the neck.