Pendular, Funicular, and Capillary Bridges: Results for Two Dimensions.

Theconfigurations and interactions in a system of particles connected by liquid bridges are investigated. The basic phenomena have been elucidated using two-dimensional models with equal sized particles. With this restriction all possible contact configurations can be obtained by considering three particles. Different configurations of the liquid distribution can occur depending on the amount of liquid. For small quantities of interstitial liquid, the only possible configurations are pendular bridges. For large amounts of liquid a fully saturated state called the capillary state can exist. There are also a number of intermediate cases characterized by varying degrees of interstitial voidage, which are classified as funicular configurations. The interactions of the particles by means of the interstitial liquid binder in various possible configurations have been characterized, and the interparticle forces and the energy of the system due to the capillary action of the liquid bridges have been calculated. The changes in configuration, force, and energy as one particle is pulled away are also considered. Since the parametric space for calculation is large, only two representative cases are presented. Copyright 1999 Academic Press.