• Letter

Can a liquid drop on a substrate be in equilibrium with saturated vapor?

E. S. Benilov
Phys. Rev. E 104, L032103 – Published 15 September 2021

Abstract

It is well known that liquid and saturated vapor, separated by a flat interface in an unbounded space, are in equilibrium. One would similarly expect a liquid drop, sitting on a flat substrate, to be in equilibrium with the vapor surrounding it. Yet, it is not: as shown in this work, the drop evaporates. Mathematically, this conclusion is deduced using the diffuse-interface model, but it is also reformulated in terms of the maximum-entropy principle, suggesting model independence. Physically, evaporation of drops is due to the so-called Kelvin effect, which gives rise to a liquid-to-vapor mass flux if the boundary of the liquid phase is convex.

  • Figure
  • Received 28 January 2021
  • Revised 29 March 2021
  • Accepted 2 September 2021

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevE.104.L032103

©2021 American Physical Society

Physics Subject Headings (PhySH)

Fluid Dynamics

Authors & Affiliations

E. S. Benilov*

  • Department of Mathematics and Statistics, University of Limerick, Limerick V94 T9PX, Ireland

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Issue

Vol. 104, Iss. 3 — September 2021

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