Effect of contact angle hysteresis on moving liquid film integrity.

A study was made of the formation and breakdown of a water film moving over solid surfaces (teflon, lucite, stainless steel, and copper). The flow rate associated with film formation was found to be higher than the flow rate at which film breakdown occurred. The difference in the flow rates for film formation and film breakdown was attributed to contact angle hysteresis. Analysis and experiment, which are in good agreement, indicated that film formation and film breakdown are functions of the advancing and receding angles, respectively.