Elastocapillary imbibition

ORAL

Abstract

The deformation of flexible structures under capillary forces (elastocapillarity) is relevant to many biological and engineering processes and has been the subject of several recent studies. Here, we focus on the capillary filling, or imbibition, of a gap between flexible boundaries. We examine two model systems of elastocapillary imbibition using a combination of experiment, theory and numerical simulation. In each case we determine the time to reach equilibrium (if one exists) and establish a criterion for coalescence of the elastic boundaries.

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Authors

  • Camille Duprat

    Princeton University, Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, Princeton University

  • Jeffrey Aristoff

    Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, Princeton University, MAE-Princeton University, Princeton University

  • Howard A. Stone

    Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, Princeton University, Princeton University, Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, Princeton University, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ, MAE-Princeton University, Princeton university