Visualization of liquid bridge rupture due to flow induced by corner effects

A high-speed visualization of the phenomenon of rupture of liquid bridges placed in a square cross-section capillary tube was done for three different hydrocarbons (n-Decane, iso-Octane and Decyl-alcohol). The process of rupture could be visualized from side and front views. This technique permitted to observe that the break-up of the bridge was caused by the draining of the liquid through the liquid filaments that were formed at the corners. The rupture of the interface occurred smoothly without any appreciable perturbation on the free surface, starting with a small hole that grows up until the interface splits in four parts. This rupture is strongly determined by geometric and surface properties, such as contact and geometrical angles.