Capillary Forces between Submillimeter Spheres and Flat Surfaces at Constant Liquid Volumes

We investigate the capillary forces between submillimeter spheres and flat surfaces at constant liquid volumes theoretically and experimentally. An iterative method is used to estimate the capillary force with contact angles as the boundary conditions and the constant volume as a constraint. The theoretical analysis shows that the maximum capillary force between them decreases with the increase of the liquid bridge volume at small contact angles. The experimental results show that the force is smaller than the theoretical values at the initial separation distances. It is also observed that the force first increases and then decreases with an increasing separation distance in some cases. These phenomena of capillary forces hysteresis are explained according to the wetting hysteresis.     

微尺度下锥形微操作探针表面液滴形成的研究（英）

基于液滴的转移方法可实现微操作任务中微对象的拾取,锥形操作探针则常作为一种毛细力微操作执行工具。主要研究在空气冷凝模式下锥形探针端面的液滴形成。建立了微液滴形成的数学模型,主要包括初始液滴的形成、液滴的合并和液滴的移动,研究了影响操作液滴的关键参数,分析表明:过冷度决定最小液滴半径。对单液滴的生长机制进行理论分析,并通过数值求解的方法模拟了锥形操作探针端面的液滴形成。搭建实验测试平台,实验研究了微尺度下锥形微操作探针端面的液滴形成。实验结果表明:在空气冷凝模式下,操作探针端面能够形成微液滴。经过初始液滴的形成,液滴的合并和移动等过程最终可形成稳定的微液滴,且不同锥顶角下液滴的形成呈现多样化。     

Capillary Interactions between a Probe Tip and a Nanoparticle

To understand capillary interactions between probe tips and nanoparticles under ambient conditions, a theoretical model of capillary forces between them is developed based on the geometric relations. It is found that the contribution of surface tension force to the total capillary force attains to similar order of magnitude as the capillary pressure force in many cases. It is also shown that the tip shape and the radial distance of the meniscus have great influence on the capillary force. The capillary force decreases with the increasing separation distances, and the variance of the contact angles may change the magnitudes of capillary forces several times at large radial distances. The applicability of the symmetric meniscus approximation is discussed.     

小Tabor数分形粗糙表面之间的黏着弹性接触分析

基于粗糙表面的分形描述和适用于小Tabor数微突体的黏着弹性接触理论,采用积分方法建立了小Tabor数分形粗糙表面之间的黏着弹性接触模型,获得弹性接触条件下的真实接触面积和载荷表达式,在此基础上采用单因素分析法分析表面粗糙度和材料性质对分离力的影响.结果表明,当分形维数增加时,粗糙表面单位面积上的微突体数目增加且高度减小,从而导致两表面间的分离力增大;当分形粗糙度参数增大时微突体高度增加,从而导致分离力减小;当材料弹性模量增加时黏着作用减弱,从而减小了分离力,而表面黏着能的增加会使分离力急剧增大.