Liquid penetration in metal wire mesh between parallel plates under normal gravity and microgravity conditions

The dynamics of liquid penetration in porous wire mesh are experimentally studied in this work by particularly considering the influence of gravity. Similar experimental setups are used on the ground and in a drop tower facility in order to compare the experimental results directly. Visualization of the liquid penetrating process is realized by using single-layered wire mesh which is put between a pair of transparent parallel plates. The dependence of wire mesh on the parallel plates is confirmed. The dimensional results show that liquid penetration in the wire mesh stops at an equilibrium height in normal gravity, while the liquid penetrates ceaselessly in microgravity following a parabolic relation between the liquid height and time. The fast rising early period of liquid rise in normal gravity reduces to a slow climbing period in microgravity. Different to that in normal gravity, liquid rises faster in the coarse wire mesh than in the fine wire mesh in microgravity. The effective contact angle of fluid in the parallel plates increases when it changes from normal gravity to microgravity, while it shows weak dependence on the gravity level as well as the pore radii in the wire meshes. Dimensionless analysis is performed to the results. Good consistency is obtained between the dimensionless experimental data and the theoretical solution, providing a generalized explanation to the dynamics of liquid penetration in metal wire mesh under both normal gravity and microgravity environments.