Dynamics of liquid meniscus bridge of intermittent contact slider

The dynamics of a liquid meniscus bridge between solid plane surfaces were analyzed assuming small vibrations of the spacing. The geometries of the meniscus considered in this study were the infinite-width meniscus and the finite meniscus ring. The time-dependent Reynolds equation was solved under a boundary condition considering the Laplace pressure, assuming that the contact angle of the liquid-solid interface remains zero and the mass of the liquid-in the meniscus is conserved, so that the boundary position moves parallel to the plane. By solving a linearized Reynolds equation under the assumption of small vibration, it was found that the pressure and the load carrying capacity has three terms, i.e. time-dependent squeeze term by the viscosity of the liquid, spring term by the dynamic Laplace pressure, and the static meniscus force term.