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Capillarity in Fluid

Capillarity in Fluid

Capillarity describes the movement of liquid in small spaces without external forces acting on it. The capillarity is driven by surface tension and adhesive interactions between the liquid and surrounding solid surfaces. This effect is often seen in narrow tubes, porous materials, and fine particles.
Surface tension is crucial to capillarity. It results from cohesive forces between liquid molecules at the liquid-air boundary, forming a skin that resists external forces. When the capillary tube...

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Related Experiment Video

Updated: Feb 18, 2026

Fabricating High-viscosity Droplets using Microfluidic Capillary Device with Phase-inversion Co-flow Structure

Fabricating High-viscosity Droplets using Microfluidic Capillary Device with Phase-inversion Co-flow Structure

Published on: April 17, 2018

Using evaporation to control capillary instabilities in micro-systems.

Rodrigo Ledesma-Aguilar¹, Gianluca Laghezza, Julia M Yeomans

¹Smart Materials and Surfaces Laboratory, Northumbria University, Ellison Place, Newcastle upon Tyne NE1 8ST, UK. rodrigo.ledesma@northumbria.ac.uk.

|November 18, 2017

Summary

This summary is machine-generated.

Evaporation rate influences dynamical capillary instabilities in micro-electrical mechanical systems (MEMS). This finding allows for direct control of capillary flows using diffusive mass transfer in MEMS fabrication.

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Last Updated: Feb 18, 2026

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Published on: April 17, 2018

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Microtensiometer for Confocal Microscopy Visualization of Dynamic Interfaces

Microtensiometer for Confocal Microscopy Visualization of Dynamic Interfaces

Published on: September 9, 2022

Area of Science:

Fluid dynamics
Micro-scale systems engineering
Surface science

Background:

Fluid interface instabilities can hinder micro-electrical mechanical systems (MEMS) fabrication.
Capillary pressures can also be leveraged to assemble novel structures.
Interfaces often appear temporarily during evaporation in micro-scale applications.

Purpose of the Study:

To investigate the role of evaporation rate in the onset and form of dynamical capillary instabilities.
To challenge the common assumption that evaporation only dictates the timescale of interface configurations.
To explore the potential of controlling capillary flows in MEMS via evaporation.

Main Methods:

Lattice-Boltzmann simulations
Theoretical analysis

Main Results:

The rate of evaporation significantly impacts the onset and form of dynamical capillary instabilities.
Evaporation is not merely a passive factor setting timescales but actively influences instability dynamics.
Diffusive mass transfer can be a direct control mechanism for capillary flows.

Conclusions:

The study reveals a dynamic role for evaporation in capillary instabilities.
Findings provide insights into previous experimental observations.
Opens new avenues for controlling microfluidic behavior in MEMS through evaporation-driven mass transfer.