Numerical Simulation for Meniscus Bridge Formation and Breakage

Abstract

For mechanical devices in micro or nanometer scale, interactions between surfaces have become very important. When two surfaces approach each other, in the presence of meniscus bridges by liquid film on the surface or condensed water from humid air, strong attractive force arises. And, the force heavily influences the operation of micro/nano devices. In this study, particle based numerical simulation was carried out to investigate the dynamic behavior of the meniscus bridge. By using Moving Particle Semi-implicit (MPS) method, it is easy to identifying the large deformation of the liquid surface. The results obtained are compared with experiments. The dynamic process of the meniscus bridge formation and breakage with large deformation of the liquid surface is qualitatively simulated.

Keywords

• liquid bridge
• meniscus
• surface tension
• wettability
• numerical simulation
• mps method