Deformation of a nearly hemispherical conducting drop due to an electric field: theory and experiment

Corson, L.T., Tsakonas, C., Duffy, B.R., Mottram, N.J. , Sage, I.C., Brown, C.V. and Wilson, S.K. (2014) Deformation of a nearly hemispherical conducting drop due to an electric field: theory and experiment. Physics of Fluids, 26(12), 122106. (doi: 10.1063/1.4903223)

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Abstract

We consider, both theoretically and experimentally, the deformation due to an electric field of a pinned nearly hemispherical static sessile drop of an ionic fluid with a high conductivity resting on the lower substrate of a parallel-plate capacitor. Using both numerical and asymptotic approaches, we find solutions to the coupled electrostatic and augmented Young–Laplace equations which agree very well with the experimental results. Our asymptotic solution for the drop interface extends previous work in two ways, namely, to drops that have zero-field contact angles that are not exactly π/2 and to higher order in the applied electric field, and provides useful predictive equations for the changes in the height, contact angle, and pressure as functions of the zero-field contact angle, drop radius, surface tension, and applied electric field. The asymptotic solution requires some numerical computations, and so a surprisingly accurate approximate analytical asymptotic solution is also obtained.

Item Type:Articles
Additional Information:This work was funded by the United Kingdom Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) via Research Grants EP/J009865 (Nottingham Trent University) and EP/J009873 (University of Strathclyde). SKW is also supported by Leverhulme Trust Research Fellowship RF-2013-355.
Status:Published
Refereed:Yes
Glasgow Author(s) Enlighten ID:Mottram, Professor Nigel
Authors: Corson, L.T., Tsakonas, C., Duffy, B.R., Mottram, N.J., Sage, I.C., Brown, C.V., and Wilson, S.K.
College/School:College of Science and Engineering > School of Mathematics and Statistics > Mathematics
Journal Name:Physics of Fluids
Publisher:AIP Publishing
ISSN:1070-6631
ISSN (Online):1089-7666
Published Online:19 December 2014
Copyright Holders:Copyright © 2014 The Authors
First Published:First published in Physics of Fluids 26(12): 122106
Publisher Policy:Reproduced under a Creative Commons License

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