Elastocapillary interaction between a long rectangular membrane and a liquid drop.

We report elastocapillary interaction between a long rectangular membrane fixed along its central axis and a liquid drop dispensed at one of its ends. The introduction of the drop results in the elastocapillary-driven wrapping of the membrane along its width and a concomitant flow in the resulting conduit along its length. Depending upon the drop size (d) and capillary length scale (Lc), we identified general criteria for achieving complete wrapping of the membrane in the dry state from energy considerations. For small droplets satisfying d ≲ Lc, we find that the critical membrane length (Wc) required for complete wrapping is proportional to the elastocapillary length scale (Lec). In the case of large droplets with d > Lc, the wrapping behavior depends on the ratio of membrane width to elastocapillary length scale (W/Lec) and the ratio of capillary length scale to the elastocapillary length scale (Lc/Lec). Our study suggests that the critical membrane width for complete wrapping is smaller in the wet state compared to that in the dry state, which can be attributed to the existence of a transmembrane pressure in the wet state. The effect of membrane thickness and width and drop volume on the length and cross-section of the wrapped conduit and attached width of the wrapped membrane is studied. For small droplets, the resulting elastocapillary flow exhibits an inertial regime at small times, followed by a Washburn regime at intermediate times, and finally an inertial regime, and for large droplets, only an inertial regime is observed throughout.

Bio-inspired liquid transport via elastocapillary interaction of a thin membrane with a liquid meniscus.

We report bio-inspired (from a hummingbird's tongue) liquid transport via elastocapillary interaction of a thin membrane with a liquid meniscus. A soft wedge-thin rectangular membrane forming a wedge with a rigid substrate and a flat thin rectangular membrane undergo large deformation while interacting with liquid menisci. The membrane deformation leads to the formation of confinement which in turn results in elastocapillary flow along the membrane length. A simple theoretical model based on the Euler Bernoulli law is used to predict the membrane deformation profiles, which compare well with that obtained from experiments. In the wedge case, the membrane surface and liquid are selected such that the Concus-Finn criterion is not satisfied to contrast the present case of elastocapillary flow from the typical corner flow reported in the literature. The meniscus location versus time studies indicated that the flow exhibits the typical Washburn regime with , except for a sudden increase in velocity at the end of the membrane length. The effects of membrane thickness and width, liquids and substrates were studied to determine the expression for the modified Washburn constant Wm in both the wedge and flat membranes. It was found that gravity plays a role for Bo > 0.94 and for Bo = 1.9, the effect of inclination angle on the flow was studied. The elastocapillary flow with thin membranes could open up an opportunity for a new area, namely "membrane microfluidics" or "lab on a membrane", for diagnostics and other applications.