The thickness and curvature profiles in the contact line region of a moving evaporating thin liquid film of pentane on a quartz substrate were measured for the thickness region, δ < 2.5 microns. The critical region, δ < 0.1 microns, was emphasized. The profiles were obtained using image analyzing interferometry and an improved data analysis procedure. The precursor adsorbed film, the thickness, the curvature, and interfacial slope (variation of the local “apparent contact angle”) profiles were consistent with previous models based on interfacial concepts. Isothermal equilibrium conditions were used to evaluate the Hamaker constant in-situ and to verify the accuracy of the procedures. The profiles give fundamental insights into the phenomena of phase change, pressure gradient, fluid flow, spreading, and the physics of interfacial phenomena in the contact line region. The experimental results demonstrate explicitly for the first time, with microscopic detail, that the disjoining pressure controls fluid flow within an evaporating completely wetting thin curved film and the stability of the thin film. The change in the thickness of the adsorbed film with time is demonstrated for the first time.
Unsteady Viscous Incompressible Bingham Fluid Flow through a Parallel Plate
