Determination of Contact Angle from Contact Area of Liquid Droplet Spreading on Solid Substrate

Abstract

Both complete and incomplete wetting were considered for the spreading of liquid drops on solid substrate. The liquid droplets were silicone oil, glycerine and hexadecane and the solid substrates are glass, polystyrene and polymethyl methacrylate (PMMA). Wetting was characterized by measuring the contact angle formed between the liquid drop and solid surface. Small droplets of constant volume were used for the measurements in order to minimize gravitational effects. The contact radius was obtained as a function of time by an image analysis system and used for the calculation of the contact area. The contact area was then used to determine the contact angle. The contact angles calculated from contact area are in good agreement with the experimental values.