Capillary-driven horseshoe vortex forming around a micro-pillar

HYPOTHESIS

Horseshoe vortices are known to emerge around large-scale obstacles, such as bridge pillars, due to an inertia-driven adverse pressure gradient forming on the upstream-side of the obstacle. We contend that a similar flow structure can arise in thin-film Stokes flow around micro-obstacles, such as used in textured surfaces to improve wettability. This could be exploited to enhance mixing in microfluidic devices, typically limited to creeping-flow regimes.

EXPERIMENTS

Numerical simulations based on the Navier-Stokes equations are carried out to elucidate the flow structure associated with the wetting dynamics of a liquid film spreading around a 50 μm diameter micro-pillar. The employed multiphase solver, which is based on the volume of fluid method, accurately reproduces the wetting dynamics observed in current and previous (Mu et al., Langmuir, 2019) experiments.

FINDINGS

The flow structure within the liquid meniscus forming at the foot of the micro-pillar evinces a horseshoe vortex wrapping around the obstacle, notwithstanding that the Reynolds number in our system is extremely low. Here, the adverse pressure gradient driving flow reversal near the bounding wall is caused by capillarity instead of inertia. The horseshoe vortex is entangled with other vortical structures, leading to an intricate flow system with high-potential mixing capabilities.

Nonspherical armoured bubble vibration

In this paper, we study the dynamics of cylindrical armoured bubbles excited by mechanical vibrations. A step by step transition from cylindrical to spherical shape is reported as the intensity of the vibration is increased, leading to a reduction of the bubble surface and a dissemination of the excess particles. We demonstrate through energy balance that nonspherical armoured bubbles constitute a metastable state. The vibration instills the activation energy necessary for the bubble to return to its least energetic stable state: a spherical armoured bubble. At this point, particle desorption can only be achieved through higher amplitude of excitation required to overcome capillary retention forces. Nonspherical armoured bubbles open perspectives for tailored localized particle dissemination with limited excitation power.

Dynamics of liquid plugs in prewetted capillary tubes: from acceleration and rupture to deceleration and airway obstruction

The dynamics of individual liquid plugs pushed at a constant pressure head inside prewetted cylindrical capillary tubes is investigated experimentally and theoretically. It is shown that, depending on the thickness of the prewetting film and the magnitude of the pressure head, the plugs can either experience a continuous acceleration leading to a dramatic decrease of their size and eventually their rupture or conversely, a progressive deceleration associated with their growth and an exacerbation of the airway obstruction. These behaviors are quantitatively reproduced using a simple nonlinear model [Baudoin et al., Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U. S. A., 2013, 110, 859] adapted here for cylindrical channels. Furthermore, an analytical criterion for the transition between these two regimes is derived and successfully compared with extensive experimental data. The potential implications of this work for pulmonary obstructive diseases are discussed.

Dual role of gravity on the Faraday threshold for immiscible viscous layers

This work discusses the role of gravity on the Faraday instability, and the differences one can expect to observe in a low-gravity experiment when compared to an earth-based system. These differences are discussed in the context of the viscous linear theory for laterally infinite systems, and a surprising result of the analysis is the existence of a crossover frequency where an interface in low gravity switches from being less to more stable than an earth-based system. We propose this crossover exists in all Faraday systems, and the frequency at which it occurs is shown to be strongly influenced by layer height. In presenting these results physical explanations are provided for the behavior of the predicted forcing amplitude thresholds and wave number selection.

EWOD driven cleaning of bioparticles on hydrophobic and superhydrophobic surfaces

Environmental air monitoring is of great interest due to the large number of people concerned and exposed to different possible risks. From the most common particles in our environment (e.g. by-products of combustion or pollens) to more specific and dangerous agents (e.g. pathogenic micro-organisms), there are a large range of particles that need to be controlled. In this article we propose an original study on the collection of electrostatically deposited particles using electrowetting droplet displacement. A variety of particles were studied, from synthetic particles (e.g. Polystyrene Latex (PSL) microsphere) to different classes of biological particle (proteins, bacterial spores and a viral simulant). Furthermore, we have compared ElectroWetting-On-Dielectric (EWOD) collecting efficiency using either a hydrophobic or a superhydrophobic counter electrode. We observe different cleaning efficiencies, depending on the hydrophobicity of the substrate (varying from 45% to 99%). Superhydrophobic surfaces show the best cleaning efficiency with water droplets for all investigated particles (MS2 bacteriophage, BG (Bacillus atrophaeus) spores, OA (ovalbumin) proteins, and PSL).

Droplet displacements and oscillations induced by ultrasonic surface acoustic waves: a quantitative study

We present an experimental study of a droplet interacting with an ultrasonic surface acoustic wave. Depending on the amplitude of the wave, the drop can either experience an internal flow with its contact line pinned, or (at higher amplitude) move along the direction of the wave also with internal flow. Both situations come with oscillations of the drop free surface. The physical origins of the internal mixing flow as well as the drop displacement and surface waves are still not well understood. In order to give insights of the underlying physics involved in these phenomena, we carried out an experimental and numerical study. The results suggest that the surface deformation of the drop can be related to a combination between acoustic streaming effect and radiation pressure inside the drop.

Bubble splitting in oscillatory flows on ground and in reduced gravity

The stability of centimeter scale air bubbles is studied in quiescent suspending liquid under an imposed oscillatory acceleration field. Experiments were performed in reduced- and normal-gravity environments. A strong acceleration resulted in an instability leading to the breakups of the bubbles in both gravity environments. The breakup onset was investigated and found to be characterized by a critical acceleration a (cr). The influence of the liquid viscosity and the gravitational environment was studied. Empirical correlations for the onset are presented and discussed with the intention to reveal splitting mechanism. The inertial mechanism often deemed to cause the breakup of drops subjected to a rapid gas stream is shown to give explanations consistent with the experiments. A breakup criterion for both gravitational environments is proposed through discussions from an energetic point of view.

Micrometric granular ripple patterns in a capillary tube

The oscillatory motion of a fluid carrying micron-sized particles inside a capillary tube is investigated experimentally. It is found that initially uniformly distributed particles can segregate and accumulate to form regularly spaced micron-sized particle clusters. The wavelength of the microclusters is compared to data for macroscale sand-ripple patterns and found to obey the same universal scaling as these. A dimensional analysis is performed that confirms the universality of the experimentally observed scaling. The experimental data for the microripple clusters further suggest the existence of a minimum particle length scale for which patterns can form and below which the Brownian motion associated with the molecules of the matrix fluid inhibits pattern formation.

Effect of a vertically flowing water jet underneath a granular bed

The response of a granular bed to a punctual, vertically flowing water jet underneath it is studied experimentally, theoretically, and numerically. Experiments show that three regimes depending on the flow rate Q appear to outline the bed's behavior. For sufficiently small Q , the bed remains motionless and acts as a rigid porous medium [regime (i)]. It then becomes deformed when Q is sufficiently increased [regime (ii)]. Finally, the bed "explodes" and a locally fluidized bed limited to a domain above the water jet is observed as Q is increased further [regime (iii)]. This fluidization creates a "chimney" in the bed, roughly cylindrical in shape, inside which the grains are in motion. The flow motion in regime (i) is theoretically modeled as a Darcy flow inside an unbounded granular bed while a numerical model accounting for the boundaries is performed. Results from the theory and computations are compared to experimental data and the effects of the boundaries, the bed's thickness, and the size of the jet on the flow motion inside the bed are underlined. The onset for fluidization [regime (iii)] is explained by assuming a stick-slip behavior of the chimney. Despite the simplistic model, the comparison with experimental data show very good agreement for bony sand granules and relatively good agreement for spherical glass beads.

Air bubbles under vertical vibrations

This paper reports on an experimental study of the splitting instability of an air bubble a few centimetres in diameter placed in a sealed cylindrical cell filled with liquid and submitted to vertical oscillations. The response of the bubble to the oscillations is observed with a high-speed video camera. It is found that the bubble dynamics is closely associated with the acceleration of the cell Gamma. For small acceleration values, the bubble undergoes minor shape deformations. With increasing acceleration values, these deformations are amplified and for sufficiently large Gamma the bubble becomes toroidal. The bubble may then become unstable and split into smaller parts. The onset of bubble division is studied and its dependency on physical parameters such as the fluid viscosity, the fluid surface tension and the initial size of the bubble is presented. It is found that the criterion for the bubble splitting process is associated with a threshold based on the acceleration of the oscillations. Above this threshold, the number of bubbles present in the cell is observed to grow until a final steady state is reached. Data analysis reveals that the final bubble size may be characterized in terms of Bond number.

Granular ripples under rotating flow: a new experimental technique for studying ripples in non-rotating, geophysical applications?

A review of our research investigating a new pattern formation process in granular material underlying a rotating fluid is given. The purpose of this summary is to introduce the phenomenon to the geophysical research community and to draw attention to the potential practical benefits of our new experimental method. To this end, the applied and scientific advantages of the technique over traditional studies employing, for instance, water channels, are discussed for the first time. It is shown here that the system rotation in our new technique does not appear to affect the scaling law expressing the dependence of the ripple-pattern wavelength on the governing independent experimental parameters. This suggests that it may become possible to extrapolate appropriate results from rotating to non-rotating systems and, hence, to geophysical environments. Consequently, our new technique may find applications in the context of geophysical research on the formation of sedimentary granular ripple structures.

Universal scaling for ripple formation in granular media

The wavelength scaling of ripple patterns formed by granular materials underneath flowing fluids is investigated. Experimental results from five systems involving substantially different experimental conditions are compared to each other. The data analysis reveals that all systems display a common, global scaling behavior for the onset of ripple formation on short time scales. This suggests the existence of common physical mechanisms governing ripple formation in these systems.

Wavelength scaling of spiral patterns formed by granular media underneath a rotating fluid

A spiral pattern formed by granular media underneath a rotating fluid is discussed. Results from a cellular-automaton model are compared to experimental data, and are found to reproduce experimentally observed scalings. A theoretical argument predicting these scalings on the basis of the existence of a critical threshold condition is advanced. It is suggested that the pattern is probably not associated with a hitherto unknown flow instability, as has been speculated previously. It appears that the pattern constitutes some rotating analog to sand ripples in nonrotating systems.