Dynamic wetting experiment with nitrogen in a quasi-capillary tube

TL;DR

This study experimentally investigates the wetting dynamics of liquid nitrogen in a cryogenic, inertia-dominated environment, revealing how the contact angle relates to interface motion and the dominant forces affecting oscillations.

Contribution

The paper provides new experimental data on cryogenic wetting dynamics, introduces a model linking contact angle evolution to interface shape, and analyzes force dominance in oscillating cryogenic systems.

Findings

Dynamic contact angle in advancing conditions is linearly related to Capillary number.

Contact angle remains near equilibrium in receding conditions.

Viscous forces dominate damping in small tubes, gravity and inertia in larger tubes.

Abstract

This work investigates the wetting dynamics of cryogenic fluids in inertia-dominated conditions. We experimentally characterized an oscillating gas-liquid interface of liquid nitrogen in a partially filled U-shaped quartz tube. The experiments were carried out in controlled cryogenic conditions, with interface oscillations produced by releasing the liquid column from an unbalanced position and having nitrogen vapor as the only ullage gas. During the experiments, the interface shape was tracked via image processing and used to fit a model from which the contact angle could be accurately determined. The results show that the dynamic contact angle evolution in advancing conditions is linearly linked to the Capillary number, with a slope depending on whether the interface moves over a dry or a pre-wet surface. However, the contact angle remains close to the one at equilibrium in receding conditions. To analyze the relation between contact angle and interface dynamics, we define an equivalent contact angle as the one that would make a spherical interface produce the same capillary pressure drop as the actual interface shape. The evolution of this equivalent contact angle proved to be independent of the evolution of the actual one, suggesting that the interface shape is not influenced by it. Finally, a theoretical analysis of the interface motion using a simplified model shows that viscous forces dominate the damping of the interface for small tube sizes, while gravity and inertial forces dominate the oscillating dynamics of the liquid column for larger tubes.