title: Capillary forces between surfaces with nanoscale roughness.
abstract: The flow and adhesion behavior of fine powders (approx. less than 10 microm) is significantly affected by the magnitude of attractive interparticle forces. Hence, the relative humidity and magnitude of capillary forces are critical parameters in the processing of these materials. In this investigation, approximate theoretical formulae are developed to predict the magnitude and onset of capillary adhesion between a smooth adhering particle and a surface with roughness on the nanometer scale. Experimental adhesion values between a variety of surfaces are measured via atomic force microscopy and are found to validate theoretical predictions.
authors.affiliation: Department of Materials Science and Engineering and Engineering Research Center for Particle Science and Technology, University of Florida, Gainesville 32611-16135, USA.
authors.forename: Yakov I
authors.initials: YI
authors.lastname: Rabinovich
authors.forename: Joshua J
authors.initials: JJ
authors.lastname: Adler
authors.forename: Madhavan S
authors.initials: MS
authors.lastname: Esayanur
authors.forename: Ali
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Ata
authors.forename: Rajiv K
authors.initials: RK
authors.lastname: Singh
authors.forename: Brij M
authors.initials: BM
authors.lastname: Moudgil