The elasticity of a contact line

Harvey Dobbs

Physica A: Statistical Mechanics and its Applications, 1999, vol. 271, issue 1, 36-47

Abstract: We calculate the work required to deform a three-phase contact line between two fluid phases and one solid phase using an interface displacement model. This includes the effects of both surface and line tensions. The leading-order dependence on the wavenumber q of the distortion has been described by Joanny and de Gennes (J. Chem. Phys. 81(1984)552). We examine the next-to-leading term, which contrary to expectation is not the line tension but a quantity of similar magnitude. Cases of divergent line tension are also examined, which demonstrate a regularization exhibiting scaling on a length scale set by q. Negative line tension does not lead to instability of the contact line to small amplitude deformations at any wavenumber.

Keywords: Contact line; Line tension (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 1999
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:eee:phsmap:v:271:y:1999:i:1:p:36-47

DOI: 10.1016/S0378-4371(99)00218-6

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