title: Drop morphologies on flexible fibers: influence of elastocapillary effects.
abstract: Various materials are made of long thin fibers that are randomly oriented to form a complex network in which drops of wetting liquid tend to accumulate at the nodes. The capillary force exerted by the liquid can bend flexible fibers, which in turn influences the morphology adopted by the liquid. In this paper, we investigate through a model situation the role of the fiber flexibility on the shape of a small volume of liquid on a pair of crossed flexible fibers. We characterize the liquid morphologies as we vary the volume of liquid, the angle between the fibers, and the length of the fibers. The drop morphologies previously reported for rigid crossed fibers, i.e., a drop, a column and a mixed morphology, are also observed on flexible crossed fibers with modified domains of existence. In addition, at small tilt angles between the fibers, a new behavior is observed: the fibers bend and collapse. Depending on the volume of liquid, a thin column with or without a drop is reported on the collapsed fibers. Our study suggests that the fiber flexibility adds a rich variety of behaviors that may be important for some applications.
authors.affiliation: Surface du Verre et Interfaces, UMR 125 CNRS/Saint-Gobain, 93303, Aubervilliers, France. alban.sauret@saint-gobain.com.
authors.forename: Alban
authors.identifier: http://orcid.org/0000-0001-7874-5983
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Sauret
authors.affiliation: Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, Princeton University, Princeton, New Jersey 08544, USA.
authors.forename: François
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Boulogne
authors.affiliation: Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, Princeton University, Princeton, New Jersey 08544, USA and Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, New York University Tandon School of Engineering, Brooklyn, NY 11201, USA.
authors.forename: Katarzyna
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Somszor
authors.affiliation: Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, New York University Tandon School of Engineering, Brooklyn, NY 11201, USA.
authors.forename: Emilie
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Dressaire
authors.affiliation: Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, Princeton University, Princeton, New Jersey 08544, USA.
authors.forename: Howard A
authors.initials: HA
authors.lastname: Stone