Numerical simulation of capillary rise in millimetric cylindrical tubes

Abstract

[Excerpt] Capillarity can be used in engineering nature-inspired slip-resistant surfaces, containing millimetric grooves, to provide an efficient grip on a solid floor with a small amount of liquid layer. Although literature has substantially reported analytical analysis and experimental data on capillary filling, numerical formulations provide the closest representation of the actual capillary filling process. Thus, in this work, a numerical model was developed to closely represent the natural filling of single-phase water inside a milli-metric-sized conduit of cylindrical shape, that demonstrates a single unit of the anti-slip surface matrix. A phase field numerical model was used to simulate the capillary imbibition of water inside the groove. [...]