Experimental investigations of liquid bridge rupture between a sphere and a spherical concave

Abstract

Liquid bridges formation and rupture between solid surfaces have widespread applications in micro gripping, self-alignment, particles wetting. In the present study, an investigation of the axisymmetric liquid bridge rupture between a sphere and a spherical concave was performed systematically. Detailed analysis was conducted on the influence of the radius ratio, liquid bridge volume, and contact angles on the rupture distance and transfer ratio. When the radius ratio was smaller than 2, it had a substantial impact on the rupture distance and transfer ratio. The experimental studies supported the effectiveness of the simulation modeling based on a minimal energy approach. Theoretical findings by a shooting method and simulated results showed great agreement. It was demonstrated that the maxima absolute error for rupture distance and transfer ratio were 0.001 and 0.0175, respectively. The simulated and theoretical results are helpful to predict the rupture distance and transfer ratio.