Perturbation Solution of the Shape of a Nonaxisymmetric Sessile Drop

We develop an approximate analytical solution for the shape of a nonaxisymmetric sessile drop using regular perturbation methods and ignoring gravity. We assume that the pinned, contorted triple-line shape is known and is a small perturbation of the circular footprint of a spherical cap. We obtain an analytical solution using regular perturbation methods that we validate by comparing to the numerical solution of the To equation obtained using publicly available Surface Evolver software. In this process, we also show that the pressure inside the perturbed drop is unchanged and relate this to the curvature of the drop using the You equation. The rms error between the perturbation and Evolver solutions is calculated for a range of contact angles and amplitudes of triple-line perturbations. We show that the perturbation solution matches the numerical results well for a wide range of contact angles. In addition, we calculate the extent to which the drop surface is affected by triple-line contortions. We discuss the applicability of this solution to the possibility of real time hybrid experimental/computational characterization of the 3D sessile drop shapes, including obtaining local contact angle information.