In the field of sealing, mechanical assemblies commonly consist of two flanges made of hard metallic material and a seal made of soft metallic material. These flanges have surface defects due to the manufacturing process, e.g., face-turning, which produces a characteristic spiral-grooved profile. The residual opening defects thus constitute leak paths for the fluid to be sealed and the modeling of fluid flow in the resulting connected aperture field between the high and low pressure zones is essential in order to predict seal efficiency.

To help understand the flow within the connected channels, in particular under two-phase flow conditions, (i.e., when the fluid to be sealed invades the contact initially saturated by air), it is of interest to analyze the case of a rather simple situation made of single spiral-grooved channel, taking into account the presence of sharp corners. In this context, liquid films can develop in the corners of the channel in the case of imbibition. Indeed, the presence of the corner films may significantly modify the overall imbibition kinetic and can explain, for instance, capillary instabilities leading to gas trapping. The present work reports on analytical solutions for the dynamics of the central meniscus, including that of the liquid film in the corners of a spiral-grooved channel.