Effects of Tube Radius and Surface Tension on Capillary Rise Dynamics of Water/Butanol Mixtures

Abstract

Capillary-driven action is an important phenomenon which aids the development of high-performance heat transfer devices, such as microscale heat pipes. This study examines the capillary rise dynamics of n-butanol/water mixture in a single vertical capillary tube with different radii (0.4, 0.6, and 0.85 mm). For liquids, distilled water, n-butanol, and their blends with varying concentrations of butanol (0.3, 0.5, and 0.7 wt.%) were used. The results show that the height and velocity of the capillary rise were dependent on the tube radius and liquid surface tension. The larger the radius and the higher the surface tension, the lower was the equilibrium height (h(e)) and the velocity of rise. The process of capillary rise was segregated into three characteristic regions: purely inertial, inertial + viscous, and purely viscous regions. The early stages (purely inertial and inertial + viscous) represented the characteristic heights h(1) and h(2), which were dominant in the capillary rise process. There were linear correlations between the characteristic heights (h(1), h(2), and h(e)), tube radius, and surface tension. Based on these correlations, a linear function was established between each of the three characteristic heights and the consolidated value of tube radius and surface tension (sigma L/2 pi r(2)).