Abstract
In this work, numerical analysis have been performed to the equilibrium shape and stability of a liquid bridge adhered between two arbitrarily inclined spheres without gas flow. This problem was formulated to investigate the minimum potential energy of a drop and solved by using the finite element method. Equilibrium shape and stability depend on the nondimensional Bond number, which represents the ratio of surface tension to gravity, the given liquid volume, the inclined angle and the distance between the two spheres. Results of stability judged from the minimum eigenvalue indicate the minimum and maximum value of liquid volumes and the of of parameters on the values, with the exception of two attached spheres, where the critical volumes only have maximum values. However, in the case of two vertical spheres, it was necessary to decide the maximum volumes because of the experimental observation. The maximum volumes were set as the volumes at the time when the lower contact line of a drop reaches the halfway line of the lowersphere.
