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Related Experiment Video

Updated: Feb 13, 2026

Orientational Transition in a Liquid Crystal Triggered by the Thermodynamic Growth of Interfacial Wetting Sheets

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Published on: May 15, 2017

Forced Wetting Transition and Bubble Pinch-Off in a Capillary Tube.

Benzhong Zhao¹, Amir Alizadeh Pahlavan¹, Luis Cueto-Felgueroso^1,2

¹Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 77 Massachusetts Avenue, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02139, USA.

Physical Review Letters

|March 16, 2018

Summary

In partial wetting, increasing fluid displacement rates in capillary tubes causes a wetting transition. This phenomenon leads to bubble pinch-off, even without geometric constraints, impacting microfluidic devices.

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Area of Science:

Fluid dynamics
Surface science
Microfluidics

Background:

Immiscible fluid displacement in partial wetting presents challenges in both microscopic and macroscopic understanding.
Classic fluid displacement models often assume complete wetting, which may not reflect real-world scenarios.

Purpose of the Study:

To investigate the fluid-fluid displacement of a viscous fluid by a less viscous fluid in a circular capillary tube under partial wetting conditions.
To identify the conditions under which a wetting transition occurs and its impact on interface behavior and bubble formation.

Main Methods:

Studied fluid displacement in a circular capillary tube using a less viscous fluid displacing a more viscous one.
Analyzed the behavior of the fluid-fluid interface and contact line at varying displacement rates (capillary numbers).
Investigated the dewetting of entrained films and subsequent bubble pinch-off dynamics.

Main Results:

A contact angle-dependent wetting transition occurs at a critical capillary number.
At low rates, the interface moves without shape change; at higher rates, it becomes unstable, forming a finger.
An entrained film dewets, universally leading to bubble pinch-off, driven by contact line hydrodynamics.

Conclusions:

The study demonstrates that moving contact line hydrodynamics can generate bubbles in microfluidic devices, irrespective of geometric constraints.
The findings challenge existing models by showing a dynamic wetting transition in partial wetting regimes.
This research provides new insights into fluid behavior in microscale systems relevant to microfluidics and materials science.