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Related Experiment Video

Updated: Jul 3, 2026

Pore-scale Imaging and Characterization of Hydrocarbon Reservoir Rock Wettability at Subsurface Conditions Using X-ray Microtomography

Pore-scale Imaging and Characterization of Hydrocarbon Reservoir Rock Wettability at Subsurface Conditions Using X-ray Microtomography

Published on: October 21, 2018

Contact angles on spherical surfaces.

C W Extrand¹, Sung In Moon

¹Entegris, Inc., 3500 Lyman Boulevard, Chaska, Minnesota 55318, USA. chuck_extrand@entegris.com

Langmuir : the ACS Journal of Surfaces and Colloids

|July 23, 2008

Summary

This summary is machine-generated.

Contact angles on curved surfaces depend on intrinsic wettability and surface orientation. Accounting for geometry confirms the Gibbs relation, enabling automated wettability measurements.

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Area of Science:

Surface Science
Wettability Studies
Contact Angle Analysis

Background:

Contact angle measurements are crucial for understanding surface wettability.
Traditional methods often assume flat surfaces, limiting applicability to curved substrates.
Curved surfaces present unique challenges in accurately determining intrinsic contact angles.

Purpose of the Study:

To investigate the effect of surface curvature on measured contact angles.
To determine if intrinsic contact angles can be accurately extracted from curved surfaces.
To validate the applicability of the Gibbs relation under curved geometries.

Main Methods:

Depositing small liquid drops on spherical surfaces.
Incrementally adding or removing liquid to control contact line movement.
Analyzing apparent contact angles in relation to surface orientation and drop volume.

Main Results:

Apparent advancing contact angles increased as the liquid drop spread on steeper slopes.
Observed angles correlated with intrinsic contact angles and local surface orientation.
The Gibbs relation was confirmed when curvature and geometry were properly considered.

Conclusions:

Surface geometry significantly influences apparent contact angles on curved surfaces.
Accurate intrinsic wettability can be determined from curved substrates by accounting for curvature.
The developed method offers a pathway for automated contact angle measurements on complex surfaces.