Capillary condensation of saturated vapor in a corner formed by two intersecting walls

Abstract

The dynamics of saturated vapor between two intersecting walls is examined. It is shown that, if the angle φ between the walls is sufficiently small, the vapor becomes unstable, and spontaneous condensation occurs in the corner, similar to the so-called capillary condensation of vapor into a porous medium. As a result, an ever-growing liquid meniscus develops near the corner. The diffuse-interface model and the lubrication approximation are used to demonstrate that the meniscus grows if and only if φ + 2 θ