Abstract :
The issue of mechanical equilibrium conditions at junctions of sharp anisotropic interfaces
is addressed. The well known Herring conditions are valid for a given junction direction. It
is shown that if a system of interface segments joint along a line is allowed to change line
direction, some additional relations are applicable. They are derived using the
Hoffman–Cahn formalism of capillarity vector. As an example proving significance of the
additional relations, criteria for wetting of anisotropic boundaries are considered. If the
direction of the triple line is fixed, the criteria are shown to be different from those known
for isotropic interfaces. C 2005 Springer Science + Business Media, Inc.
