title: Parameters ruling capillary forces at the submillimetric scale.
abstract: This paper reviews the way to compute capillary forces between two solids by numerically integrating the Laplace equation describing the shape of an axially symmetric meniscus at equilibrium. The numerical results of the proposed model have been experimentally validated with a test bed able to measure forces of about 1 mN with an accuracy of about 1 microN. Thanks to the simulation tool and the test bed, the influence of the following parameters has been studied: surface tension, solid geometry, volume of liquid, materials, separation distance between both solids, and surrounding environment. The way to compute the force from a given meniscus geometry has been clarified as far as the "Laplace" and "tension" contributions are concerned.
authors.affiliation: CAD-CAM Department, Université libre de Bruxelles (CP165/14) 50 Roosevelt Avenue, B-1050 Brussels, Belgium. pierre.lambert@ulb.ac.be
authors.forename: Pierre
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Lambert
authors.forename: Alain
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Delchambre