Investigation on Collapse of Capillary Flow in Parallel and Wedge-Shaped Channels

Abstract

Present paper investigates the steady criterion of the forced, isothermal, and incompressible capillary channel flow in both parallel plates and wedge-shaped channel, which has prominent application in liquid management technology in space. One-dimensional refined Bernoulli equation for parallel channel in Rosendahls work is modified mainly on geometric factors to establish algorithms for wedge-shaped channel. Liquid pressure loss theory is applied to explain the physical behavior of the flow collapse and critical volume flux is determined as a function of length of channels. Theoretical analysis of flow in both parallel and wedge-shaped channels demonstrates better liquid management performance in the wedge-shaped channel. Such results may be valuable in the capillary channel design for space liquid transport application.