Multiple droplets on a conical fiber: formation, motion, and droplet mergers

Small droplets on slender conical fibers spontaneously move along the fiber due to capillary action. The droplet motion depends on the geometry of the cone, the surface wettability, the surface tension, the viscosity, and the droplet size. Here we study with experiments and numerical simulations, the formation, spontaneous motion, and the eventual merger, of multiple droplets on slender conical fibers as they interact with each other. The …