Surface thermodynamic analysis of fluid confined in a cone and comparison with the sphere-plate and plate-plate geometries
Related Experiment Video
Updated: May 7, 2026

Near-Infrared Temperature Measurement Technique for Water Surrounding an Induction-heated Small Magnetic Sphere
Published on: April 30, 2018
Leila Zargarzadeh1, Janet A W Elliott
1Department of Chemical and Materials Engineering, University of Alberta , Edmonton, Alberta, Canada T6G 2V4.
Abstract:
The behavior of pure fluid confined in a cone is investigated using thermodynamic stability analysis. Four situations are explained on the basis of the initial confined phase (liquid/vapor) and its pressure (above/below the saturation pressure). Thermodynamic stability analysis (a plot of the free energy of the system versus the size of the new potential phase) reveals whether the phase transition is possible and, if so, the number and type (unstable/metastable/stable) of equilibrium states in each of these situations. Moreover we investigated the effect of the equilibrium contact angle and the cone angle (equivalent to the confinement's surface separation distance) on the free energy (potential equilibrium states). The results are then compared to our previous study of pure fluid confined in the gap between a sphere and a flat plate and the gap between two flat plates.1 Confined fluid behavior of the four possible situations (for these three geometries) can be explained in a unified framework under two categories based on only the meniscus shape (concave/convex). For systems with bulk-phase pressure imposed by a reservoir, the stable coexistence of pure liquid and vapor is possible only when the meniscus is concave.
Related Concept Videos
Fluid Pressure over Flat Plate of Variable Width
The pressure distribution on the plate can be calculated by determining the force that acts on a differential area strip of the plate. Thus, the magnitude of the force is equal to the...
Fluid Pressure over Curved Plate of Constant Width
Fluid Pressure over Flat Plate of Constant Width
The resultant force...
Control Volume and System Representations
The control volume approach considers a stationary region in space through which fluid flows. This region is bounded by a control surface. For instance, in the case of water flowing...
Steady, Laminar Flow Between Parallel Plates
Thin-Walled Hollow Shafts
