An Analysis of the Effect of Contact Angle on the Liquid Metal Infusion into a Packed Bed

In considering the dynamic wetting of liquid metal infusion into a packed bed, the effect of the contact angle on the penetrating rate and distance was analyzed by examining the momentum balance of the liquid within a capillary, as well as reactive and non-reactive processes occurring in the vicinity of the contact line. A numerical solution for liquid titanium infusing into a 10 µ m radius cylindrical capillary reported previously was extended to include the effect of contact line friction, which has a significant influence at early times when meniscus velocities are high, and the reaction of the titanium with the substrate which takes effect at longer times and is assumed to decrease the contact angle. The contact line friction reduces the maximum meniscus velocities previously reported, while the increase in penetration depth during the reaction of the liquid metal with the substrate interpolates between the theoretical results for contact angles corresponding to fully unreacted and fully reacted substrates.