Langmuir, Vol.28, No.1, 722-728, 2012
Profiles of Liquid Drops at the Bottom of Cylindrical Fibers Standing on Flat Substrates
Based on Carroll's derivation that describes a symmetric liquid drop sitting on an infinite cylindrical fiber and the shape of the drop, we have extended the derivation to describe a drop located at the bottom of cylindrical fibers standing on flat substrates. According to our derivation, the shape of the drop forms a bell as predicted by Carroll but is cut off by the flat substrate. This theoretical prediction was verified experimentally using water, ethylene glycol, and Kaydol drops on glass, nylon and polypropylene cylindrical fibers, and on polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) and polyester (PET) flat substrates. We found that only four parameters are required to obtain agreement between the theoretical shape and the observed shape: the drop volume, the fiber radius, the liquid fiber contact angle, and liquid flat substrate contact angle.