Related Experiment Video
Updated: Apr 12, 2026

Visually Based Characterization of the Incipient Particle Motion in Regular Substrates: From Laminar to Turbulent Conditions
Published on: February 22, 2018
Effect of interface shape on advancing and receding fluid-contact angles around spherical particles
Nesrin Şenbil1, Wei He, Vincent Démery
1Department of Physics, University of Massachusetts Amherst, MA 01003, USA. dinsmore@physics.umass.edu.
Abstract:
The angle of contact between a solid surface and a fluid interface plays a key role in wetting and is therefore a focus in studies of a wide range of natural phenomena and fluidic technologies. The contact angle ranges between two values, a maximum (advancing) angle and a minimum (receding) angle. These limiting angles are thought to be properties of the fluids and of the chemistry or topography of the solid. By contrast, we find that the value of the receding angle can be significantly reduced by altering the interface shape. Using millimeter-sized spheres coated with polydimethylsiloxane and pulled through an air-water interface, we observe that the receding angle decreases from 101 ± 1° at a planar interface to as low as 80 ± 1° at saddle- or cylinder-shaped interfaces. The angle decreases smoothly with the deviatoric curvature of the interface (a measure of the shape anisotropy) and is linked to a non-circular contact line.
More Related Videos
10:28Experimental Measurement of Settling Velocity of Spherical Particles in Unconfined and Confined Surfactant-based Shear Thinning Viscoelastic Fluids
Published on: January 3, 2014
08:49Impacts of Free-falling Spheres on a Deep Liquid Pool with Altered Fluid and Impactor Surface Conditions
Published on: February 17, 2019
Related Concept Videos
Contact Angle
The adhesive force is the molecular force between molecules of different materials, that is, between the molecules of the solid and the liquid. The cohesive...
Steady, Laminar Flow Between Parallel Plates
Characteristics of Fluids
Fluid Pressure over Curved Plate of Constant Width
Surface Tension of Fluid
Surface tension varies...
Excess Pressure Inside a Drop and a Bubble