Tugas Kelompok Kimia Permukaan

Surface Tension Measurement of Wilhelmy Method

Oleh :
KELOMPOK 3
Nama Anggota :
Tria Paramita (1208105028)
Oka Sudiana (1208105039)
Mahadewi (1208105040)
Anggraeni Putri (1208105042)
Dini Imanniar (1208105043)



JURUSAN KIMIA
FAKULTAS MATEMATIKA DAN ILMU PENGETAHUAN ALAM
UNIVERSITAS UDAYANA
2014
Wilhelmy Plate or Ring Method
1. Wilhelmy plate method Descriptions
This method was elaborated by Ludwig Wilhelmy. In this method a thin plate (often
made of platinum or glass) is used to measure equilibrium surface or interfacial tension at
air-liquid or liquid-liquid interfaces. The plate is oriented perpendicularly to the interface
and the force exerted on it is measured. The principle of method is illustrated in Fig 1






Figure 1. Illustration of Wilhelmy Plate Method
The plate should be cleaned thoroughly (in the case of platinum in a burner flame)
and it is attached to a scale or balance by means of a thin metal wire. The plate is moved
towards the surface until the meniscus connects with it. The force acting on the plate due to
its wetting is measured by a tensiometer or microbalance.
To determine the surface tension the Wilhelmy equation is applied. If the plate has
a width l and its weight is W
plate
, then the force F needed to detach it from the liquid surface
equals.
F= W
total
= W
plate
+ 2lcos
Multiplying by 2 is needed because the surface tension acts on both sides of the
plate, whose thickness is neglected. If the liquid wets completely the plate, then cos =1
and the surface tension is expressed by :
= W
tot
-W
plate

2l
Descriptions :
= surface tension
F = W
tot
= tensile force recorded
W
plate
= weight of plate
l = width of plate
2 = factor because the surface tension acts on both sides of the plate, whose
thickness is neglected
The Wilhelmy plate is sometimes used in another way. In this approach, the liquid
level is raised until it just touches the hanging plate. The force recorded on the balance is
noted.





Figure 2. Another Wilhelmys Method Illustration
In tis situation, the Wilhelmy equation is,
=
Where is P the wetted perimeter of the plate, and is the contact angle. The contact angle
is reduced to near-zero values (so that the liquid wets the plate completely) by cleaning the
plate by burning it in the flame of Bunsen burner before each experiment. If the contact
angle is close to zero, simplifies to = . ( Bahramian, 2012)
Measuring methods
Measurement of the surface tension or interfacial tension: Platinum is chosen as the plate
material when measuring the SFT or IFT as it is chemically inert and easy to clean, and
because it can be optimally wetted on account of its very high surface free energy and
therefore generally forms a contact angle of 0 (cos = 1) with liquids. The required
variable can be calculated directly from the measured force. Unlike the quasistatic ring
method according to du Noy, in which the surface is deformed during the measurement,
the plate method is purely static. This enables the change in SFT or IFT with respect to
time to be recorded and the equilibrium value which is finally reached to be measured.
Measurement of the contact angle: To measure the contact angle, the solid sample -
which is usually in plate form - is immersed in a liquid with known SFT. The contact
angle can be calculated from the measured force by transposing the Wilhelmy equation:



With the Wilhelmy method, a dynamic contact angle is normally measured by slowly
immersing and then withdrawing the solid. The advancing angle is determined during the
wetting process and thereceding angle during the de-wetting process.
The wetted length L of the solid (perimeter at the level of the liquid surface) must
be known and must not be dependent on the immersion depth. In order to determine the
wetted length, a measurement can be carried out with an optimally wetting (spreading)
liquid with known SFT with which the contact angle is 0 (cos = 1).
Results for the Wilhelmy contact angle can be used to determine the surface free energy
of the solid.

2. Procedure to measure the surface tension components of bitumen binders with
Wilhelmy Plate method
A wilhelmy plate instrument (see figure 4) was used to measure surface energy of
bitumen. A thin glass slide was coated with an asphalt film, and immersed and then pulled
out from the liquid while suspended from a very precise balance. Both toward and outward
movements should be slow uniform.
During the immersion and withdrawal process, the surface energy of bitumen was
determined by measuring the contact angels between the plate, and various probe liquids.
Figure 3 sketches the Wilhelmy plate technique.
2.1 Wilhelmy plate test procedure:
a. Bitumen:
In order to measure the contact angle between a bitumen binder and a probe
liquid, a thin bitumen-coated glass must be prepared. The bitumen binder is placed in
an oven to decrease viscosity to a suitably low level for coating the glass slides. In
this study the temperature of the oven was adjusted to 135
o
C (275
o
F). The bitumen
binder was placed in the oven, and heated for 45 minutes to one hour to equalize
temperature and consistency of the can containing the bitumen binder. The binder
was stirred in order to maintain the temperature of the bitumen binder and was placed
on a temperature regulated hot plate during the coating of the glass slide.
b. Coating thin glass by bitumen
Glass slides with dimensions of 50 mm * 24 mm * 1.5 mm were used. To
ensure that the glass slide is clean and free from particles, the glass slides were run
very quickly through a flame. The glass slides are then ready to be coated with
bitumen. About one inch of the glass slide was dipped into the can of the hot bitumen
and then withdrawn. Excess bitumen was allowed to drip back into the container in
order to create a smooth surface. Slides were placed upside down. To achieve the
even surface of the coated bitumen, the glass coated slides were placed in the oven at
130
o
C for few seconds.
c. Use of desicators
After all slides had been coated, the slides were placed in a desiccator to minimize the
effect of moisture.

2.2 Starting a test
Water, Formamide and Diiodomethane were the three probe liquids used. Before
pouring the liquid in the beaker, it was washed very well to avoid trace particles. 100 ml
solvent was poured into the beaker. The beaker was then placed on the platform. The
platform stage holds the container of liquid used in the experiments. The stage was raised
and lowered by means of the platform.
WINDCA32 is the software which controls the Wilhelmy plate device. For running a
test the load bottom under method in the tool bar should be selected. The proper
liquid name should be chosen in the wizard. After measuring the width and the thickness
of the coated glass slide is hung with a copper clip and centered over the container of the
liquid.
The instrument is ready to measure the contact angle between probe liquid and
bitumen binder. By selecting acquire data, the system will measure the contact angle
while immersing (advancing angle) and withdrawing (receding angle) the sample.
Principle





Figure 3. Willhelmy plate technique : a) advancing angle (wetting process), b) receding
angle (de-wetting process)
Instrument








Wilhelmys Method Surface Tension Measurement
1. Moved sample table down as low as possible and test fluid in a petri cup is placed on the
sample table .
2. Moved upward sample table with test fluid slowly until the ring is about 2-3 mm below
the surface of the liquid .
3. Table with fluid test sample is moved up slowly. Then table with test fluid is moved back
down slowly until the outside of the ring to attract lamellar liquid surface . At this time,
the value on the screen will go up. Which this value will reach its maximum value until
shortly before breaking the lamellae. The maximum value obtained is substantially no
liquid surface tension corected.
4. The ring correction factor is calculated using the following equation

Descriptions :
OS
ruk
: Uncorrected surface tension ( nM.m
-1
)
D : weight of the fluid that being tested ( g.cm
-3
)

5. Multiply the price of surface tension obtained by the correction factor which is
calculated. The results of these times is the absolute surface tension prices in mN.m
-1

Conclusions :
Wilhelmys method is the method where used to measure equilibrium surface or
interfacial tension at air-liquid or liquid-liquid interfaces that is based on the force
required to pull fluid from the surface of a thin plate. Where is the plates are hung on one
arm of the balance, then it put in the liquid to be investigated .







REFERENCES
Anonim. Methods of Surface Tension Measurements. http://zzm.umcs.lublin.pl/ . Diunduh
tanggal 25 September 2014.
Anonim. Wilhelmy Plate Method Glossary. http://www.kruss.de/services/education-theory/ .
Diunduh tanggal 25 September 2014.
Anonim. Metode Lempengan Wilhelmy. http://repository.usu.ac.id/ . Diunduh tanggal 25
September 2014.
Bahramian, Anohe. 2012. Evaluating Surface Energy Components of Asphalt Binders Using
Wilhelmy Plate and Sessile Drop Techniques. Degree Project in highway and railway
egineering Stockholm : Sweden