The influence of solid micro-deformation on contact angle equilibrium

At a triple wetting line, the liquid-fluid tension may produce a wetting ridge in sufficiently soft solids. By employing variational methods, it has been shown that the solid strain combined with the Laplace pressure may modify contact angle equilibrium on a mesoscopic scale, situated between that of the molecular structure of the triple line and the macroscopic behavior observed in quotidian contact angle assessment. Young's equation remains perfectly valid in the latter regime. Some possible consequences are discussed.