INVESTIGADORES
GOMBA Juan Manuel
artículos
Título:
Final state of a perturbed liquid film inside a container under the effect of solid-liquid molecular forces and gravity
Autor/es:
PERAZZO, CARLOS ALBERTO; MAC INTYRE J. R.; GOMBA, J. M.
Revista:
PHYSICAL REVIEW E
Editorial:
AMER PHYSICAL SOC
Referencias:
Lugar: New York; Año: 2014 vol. 89 p. 43101 - 43108
ISSN:
1539-3755
Resumen:
We investigate theoretically the possible final stationary configurations that can be reached by a laterally
confined uniform liquid film inside a container. The liquid is under the action of gravity, surface tension, and
the molecular interaction with the solid substrate. We study the case when the container is in an upright position
as well as when it is turned upside down. The governing parameters of the problem are the initial thickness
of the film, the size of the recipient that contains the liquid, and a dimensionless number that quantifies the
relative strength of gravity with respect to the molecular interaction. The uniform film is always a possible final
state and depending on the value of the parameters, up to three different additional final states may exist, each
one consisting in a droplet surrounded by a thin film. We derive analytical expressions for the energy of these
possible final configurations and from these we analyze which state is indeed reached. A uniform thin film may
show three different behaviors after a perturbation: The system recovers its initial shape after any perturbation,
the fluid evolves towards a drop (if more than one is possible, it tends toward that with the thinnest precursor
film) for any perturbation, or the system ends as a uniform film or a drop depending on the details of the
perturbation.