Transient Capillary Rise in Reduced and Zero-Gravity Fields

Experimental information is given on the transient “capillary” rise of water into vertical tubes subjected to reduced and zero-gravity fields. The tubes ranged in internal diameter from 0.075 to 1.295 in. The response in a low-gravity environment is of interest in studying the behavior of liquid systems for space vehicles. An approximate analysis is presented to aid in the interpretation of the data and predict the transient rise. Photographs are given which illustrate the behavior in short tubes where the water is able to move beyond the top of the tube during part of the zero-gravity period.