Liquid drops on vertical and inclined surfaces II. A method for approximating drop shapes

In this article, a new method is proposed to approximate the shapes of liquid drops on vertical and inclined surfaces. Based on observations from Part I, the profile of a drop at a given azimuthal angle is approximated by two circles sharing a common tangent at the maximum height. The drop volume is obtained by integrating all profiles over the circumference of the base. The volume is thus described as a function of the contact angles and the three-phase contact line. The new method accurately predicts the volumes of drops tested in Part I and independent measurements from the literature. Simplifying the drop shape to a spherical cap can lead to a 75% error in drop-volume prediction. The proposed method is used to study the effect of drop parameters on volume prediction. The two-circle geometry can also be used to measure contact angles from profile images. (C) 2004 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.