P. Chen et al., CONTACT LINE QUADRILATERAL RELATION - GENERALIZATION OF THE NEUMANN TRIANGLE RELATION TO INCLUDE LINE TENSION, Langmuir, 12(24), 1996, pp. 5956-5962
The contact line quadrilateral relation is a generalization of the cla
ssical Neumann triangle relation that includes the effect of line tens
ion. The relation is derived using a minimum free energy principle tha
t may be graphically represented by a quadrilateral whose four sides c
onsist of three surface tension quantities and a line tension term. Wh
en the line tension term vanishes, the quadrilateral relation simplifi
es to the classical Neumann triangle relation. Applications of the qua
drilateral relation are illustrated using several axisymmetric capilla
ry geometries.