Partial wetting of thin solid sheets under tension

Abstract

We consider the equilibrium of liquid droplets sitting on thin elastic sheets that are subject to a boundary tension and/or are clamped at their edge. We study the geometrical–mechanical interplay through which the capillary force exerted by the droplet at the contact line modifies a pre-existing stress within the sheet, and characterize the parameter regimes in which this effect is large (non-perturbative) or small (perturbative).