Damping and eigenfrequencies of surface capillary—gravity waves greatly depend on the boundary conditions. To the best of our knowledge, so far no direct measurement has been made of the dynamic behaviour of the contact angle at the three-phase interface (fluid—vapour—solid walls) in the presence of surface oscillation. Therefore, theoretical models of surface gravity–capillary waves involve ad hoc phenomenological assumptions as far as the behavior of the contact angle is concerned. In this paper we report a systematic experimental investigation of the static and dynamic properties of surface waves in a cylindrical container where the free surface makes a static contact angle $\theta_{\rm c} = 62^{\circ}$ with the vertical walls. The actual boundary condition relating the contact angle to the velocity of the contact line is obtained using a new stroboscopic optical method. The experimental results are compared with the theoretical expressions to be found in the literature. Two different regimes are observed: (i) a low-amplitude regime, where the contact line always remains at rest and the contact angle oscillates during the oscillation of the free surface; (ii) a higher-amplitude regime, where the contact line slides on the vertical walls. The profile, the eigenfrequency and the damping rate of the first non-axisymmetric mode of the surface gravity waves are investigated. The eigenfrequency and damping rate in regime (i) are in satisfactory agreement with the predictions of the Graham-Eagle theory (1983) of pinned-end edge conditions. The eigenfrequency and damping rate in regime (ii) show a strongly nonlinear dependence on the oscillation amplitude of the free surface. All the experimental results concerning regime (ii) can be explained in terms of the Hocking (1987 a) and Miles (1967, 1991) models of capillary damping by introducing an ‘effective’ capillary coefficient $\lambda_{\rm eft}$. This coefficient is directly obtained for the first time in our experiment from dynamic measurements on the contact line. A satisfactory agreement is found to exist between theory and experiment.
On the analogy between rigid plate motion and mean momentum transfer in surface gravity waves