Comparison of the potential energy for different equilibrium configurations of symmetric and asymmetric floating drops
Abstract
We provide a numerical method for computing solutions to a free boundary problem arising from the equilibrium state of a floating drop. This numerical method is based on a Newton's method for the underlying nonlinear boundary value problems, and at each iterative step a Chebyshev spectral collocation method is employed. The problems considered here are those that can be described by using generating curves, and include problems in $\mathbb{R}^2$ and $\mathbb{R}^3$. The resulting nine-dimensional space of physical parameters is explored, and examples are given that highlight the potential energy of centrally located drops, wall-bound drops, and asymmetrical configurations in $\mathbb{R}^2$. Non-uniqueness of solutions to the corresponding Euler-Lagrange equations is displayed, and also strong evidence of non-uniqueness of energy minimizers is given.
Fields of Study & Subjects
Fluid Dynamics and Heat Transfer
Advanced Numerical Methods in Computational Mathematics
Geometric Analysis and Curvature Flows
Publication details
- Journal / source
- arXiv (Cornell University)
- Publication date
- 23 January 2026
- Language
- EN
- Document type
- Preprint