Van der waals forces on thin liquid films in capillary tubes

Journal Article · Fri Oct 01 04:00:00 EDT 1993 · Journal of Colloid and Interface Science; (United States)

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1006/jcis.1993.1369· OSTI ID:5769185

Herdt, G C ^[1]; Swanson, L W ^[2]

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1. National Renewable Energy Lab., Golden, CO (United States)
2. Heat Transfer Research, Inc., College Station, TX (United States)

A theory of the van der Waals attraction between a thin liquid films and a capillary tube is presented assuming the presence of a vapor-liquid interface. The model is based on the surface mode analysis method of van Kampen et al. Values for the van der Waals interaction energy per unit area were calculated for liquid films of pentane on a gold substrate assuming a thin liquid film. Results indicate that the effect of capillary curvature on the van der Waals interaction increases as the ratio of the liquid film thickness to the capillary radius is increased. This trend is consistent with predictions based on the Hamaker theory. Deviations from results based on the Hamaker theory are easily explained in terms of retardation of the van der Waals interaction. Because the effect of capillary curvature increases in the regime where retardation effects become important, curvature effects constitute a small correction to the van der Waals forces in a capillary tube.

• OSTI ID: 5769185
• Journal Information: Journal of Colloid and Interface Science; (United States), Journal Name: Journal of Colloid and Interface Science; (United States) Vol. 160:1; ISSN 0021-9797; ISSN JCISA5
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

42 ENGINEERING
420400* -- Engineering-- Heat Transfer & Fluid Flow
ALKANES
CAPILLARY FLOW
ELEMENTS
FILMS
FLUID FLOW
FLUID MECHANICS
GOLD
HYDROCARBONS
MATERIALS
MATHEMATICAL MODELS
MECHANICS
METALS
ORGANIC COMPOUNDS
PENTANE
POROUS MATERIALS
THIN FILMS
TRANSITION ELEMENTS
TUBES
VAN DER WAALS FORCES