Model for line tension in three-phase equilibrium
We propose a model free-energy functional of two order parameters with which to calculate the interfacial and line tensions in three-phase equilibrium. The Euler-Lagrange equations for the free-energy minimum are solved exactly, yielding the spatial variation of the order parameters analytically. In terms of a parameter b2 in the model the three interfacial tensions, in dimensionless form, are 12 (1+b2), 12 (1+b2) and 2. When b2=3 the three phases play symmetrical roles and the line tension, again in the appropriate units, is calculated to be −6/π + 2√3 = −0.755…. A wetting transition, where the sum of two of the interfacial tensions becomes equal to the third, occurs as b2 → 1+. A quantity that approximates the line tension is found to vanish proportionally to the first power of the vanishing contact angle as the wetting transition is approached.
Year of publication: |
1991
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Authors: | Widom, B ; Widom, H |
Published in: |
Physica A: Statistical Mechanics and its Applications. - Elsevier, ISSN 0378-4371. - Vol. 173.1991, 1, p. 72-110
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Publisher: |
Elsevier |
Saved in:
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