Plateau tank apparatus for the study of liquid bridges

An apparatus has been constructed and used to study the equilibrium and dynamical behavior of liquid bridges under reduced effective gravity. Liquid bridges are created and manipulated using six independent computer controlled stepper motors which drive linear motion tables. The bridges are visualized with a high magnification coherent Fourier optical system and in an orthogonal view using incoherent white light. By calibrating a density hydrometer and measuring the interfacial energy between the bridge and bath, reliable Bond numbers as low as 10-4 can be created and held stable for extended periods of time. Dimensional control of the liquid bridges approaches one part in 10-4 for the aspect ratio and volume. The apparatus has been tested by measuring the static stability limits of axisymmetric bridges and comparing the results with previous theoretical predictions. Experimental error for the apparatus is δBo/Bo=0.03, δA/A = 0.001 and δV/V =0.001, where Bo is the Bond number, Λ is the aspect ratio of the bridge, and V is the dimensionless (relative) volume of the bridge. © 1997 American Institute of Physics.