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PE255 Lecture 1b-L2

The document discusses surface tension and capillary action. It defines surface tension and explains how it leads to phenomena like bubbles and droplets. It also defines capillarity and capillary rise or fall in tubes based on the relative strengths of cohesive and adhesive forces. Sample problems are given to determine surface tension from capillary rise measurements and pressure differences across air bubbles based on their size and surface tension.

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33 views16 pages

PE255 Lecture 1b-L2

The document discusses surface tension and capillary action. It defines surface tension and explains how it leads to phenomena like bubbles and droplets. It also defines capillarity and capillary rise or fall in tubes based on the relative strengths of cohesive and adhesive forces. Sample problems are given to determine surface tension from capillary rise measurements and pressure differences across air bubbles based on their size and surface tension.

Uploaded by

teyeruel
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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PE 255 Fluid Mechanics

Dr. Stephen Adjei


Department of Petroleum Engineering, KNUST.
Email: [email protected]
Office: PB, 444
Lecture 1b: Surface
Tension
§ Liquids behave as if they are surrounded by a skin that tends, or
contract, like a sheet of stretched rubber.

§ The magnitude of this tensile force per unit length is called


surface tension or coefficient of surface tension 𝜎 and is
usually expressed in the unit N/m.

§ The pulling force that causes this tension acts parallel to the
surface and is due to the attractive forces between the
molecules of the liquid (Cohesion forces).

3
The Mechanism of Surface Tension
§ All molecules attract each other.
§ Those in the center are attracted equally
in all directions.
§ But those at the surface are drawn toward
the center because there are no liquid
molecules in the other direction to pull
them outward.
Attractive forces acting on a
liquid molecule at the surface
and deep inside the liquid.

4
5
§ Surface Tension: force per unit length exerted by a stretched liquid
membrane

𝐹
𝜎=
𝐿

§ Surface tension is the reason why liquids form bubbles and droplets.
§ The inward surface tension force causes bubbles to be approximately
spherical and raises the pressure of the gas trapped inside relative to
atmospheric pressure outside.

6
Pressure Inside a Bubble
Air bubble:
§ Let the droplet be cut into two
halves.
§ The forces acting on one half will
be the tensile force due to the
surface tension acting around the
circumference of the cut portion
and the pressure force on the area

7
• Tensile force due to surface tension acting around the circumference of the cut portion

• Pressure force on the area

• These two forces will be equal to and opposite under equilibrium conditions.

Pressure intensity: Gauge


pressure inside air bubble
8
Soap Bubble
For a hollow bubble, e.g., soap bubble, both inside and outside surfaces
of the bubble are in contact with air and hence both surfaces are
subjected to surface tension.

9
CAPILLARITY
• Capillarity is defined as a phenomenon of rise or fall of a
liquid surface in a small tube.
• It is due to the surface tension phenomenon.
• The rise of liquid surface is known as capillary rise, while the
fall of the liquid surface is known as capillary depression.
• It is expressed in terms of ‘cm’ or ‘mm’ of liquid.
• Its value depends upon the
üspecific weight of the liquid
ü diameter of the tube
üsurface tension of the liquid
10
Capillary Effect
§ Water in a glass container curves up slightly at the edges where it
touches the glass surface.
§ The opposite occurs for mercury: it curves down at the edges.
§ Thus water wets the glass while mercury does not.
§ The interplay of the forces of cohesion and adhesion explains the
phenomenon of capillarity.
§ When a liquid is in contact with a solid, if the forces of adhesion
between the molecules of the liquid and the solid are greater than the
forces of cohesion among the liquid molecules themselves, the liquid
molecules crowd towards the solid surface.

11
§ The reverse phenomenon takes place when the force of cohesion is
greater than the force of adhesion.

12
§ The strength of the capillary effect is
quantified by the contact angle 𝜙 ,
defined as the angle that the tangent
to the liquid surface makes with the
solid surface at the point of contact.

§ The surface tension force acts along this


tangent line toward the solid surface.
The contact angle for
§ A liquid is said to wet the surface when wetting and nonwetting
fluids.
𝝓 < 90° and not to wet the surface when
𝝓 > 90°.

13
Capillary Rise
§ The weight of the liquid column of height h:

𝑊 = 𝑚𝑔 = 𝜌𝑉𝑔 = 𝜌𝑔(𝜋𝑅 ! ℎ)

𝐹"#$%&'( = (𝜎" x circumference ) x cos 𝜙


At Equilibrium:

𝑊 = 𝐹"#$%&'(
The forces acting on a liquid
𝜌𝑔 𝜋𝑅 ! ℎ = (2𝜋𝑅)𝜎" cos 𝜙 column that has risen in a tube
due to the capillary effect.
2𝜎"
ℎ= cos 𝜙
𝜌𝑔𝑅 14
§ The capillary rise is inversely
proportional to the radius of the 2𝜎!
tube. ℎ=
𝜌𝑔𝑅
cos 𝜙

§ Therefore, the thinner the tube is,


the greater the rise (or fall) of the
liquid in the tube.

The forces acting on a liquid


column that has risen in a tube
due to the capillary effect.

15
Problem
1. A 1.6-mm-diameter tube is inserted into an unknown
liquid whose density is 960 kg/m3 , and it is observed
that the liquid rises 5 mm in the tube, making a
contact angle of 15°. Determine the surface tension of
the liquid.

2. Consider a 0.15-mm diameter air bubble in a liquid.


Determine the pressure difference between the inside
and outside of the air bubble if the surface tension at
the air-liquid interface is (a) 0.080 N/m and (b) 0.12
N/m.
16

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