Hierarchical bubble size distributions in coarsening wet liquid foams

التفاصيل البيبلوغرافية
العنوان: Hierarchical bubble size distributions in coarsening wet liquid foams
المؤلفون: Galvani, Nicolo, Pasquet, Marina, Mukherjee, Arnab, Requier, Alice, Cohen-Addad, Sylvie, Pitois, Olivier, Höhler, Reinhard, Rio, Emmanuelle, Salonen, Anniina, Durian, Douglas J., Langevin, Dominique
سنة النشر: 2023
المجموعة: Condensed Matter
مصطلحات موضوعية: Condensed Matter - Soft Condensed Matter
الوصف: Coarsening of two-phase systems is crucial for the stability of dense particle packings such as alloys, foams, emulsions or supersaturated solutions. Mean field theories predict an asymptotic scaling state with a broad particle size distribution. Aqueous foams are good model systems for investigations of coarsening-induced structures, because the continuous liquid as well as the dispersed gas phases are uniform and isotropic. We present coarsening experiments on wet foams, with liquid fractions up to their unjamming point and beyond, that are performed under microgravity to avoid gravitational drainage. As time elapses, a self-similar regime is reached where the normalized bubble size distribution is invariant. Unexpectedly, the distribution features an excess of small \textit{roaming} bubbles, mobile within the network of \textit{jammed} larger bubbles. These roaming bubbles are reminiscent of rattlers in granular materials (grains not subjected to contact forces). We identify a critical liquid fraction $\phi^*$, above which the bubble assembly unjams and the two bubble populations merge into a single narrow distribution of bubbly liquids. Unexpectedly, $\phi^*$ is larger than the random close packing fraction of the foam $\phi_{rcp}$. This is because, between $\phi_{rcp}$ and $\phi^*$, the large bubbles remain connected due to a weak adhesion between bubbles. We present models that identify the physical mechanisms explaining our observations. We propose a new comprehensive view of the coarsening phenomenon in wet foams. Our results should be applicable to other phase-separating systems and they may also help to control the elaboration of solid foams with hierarchical structures.
نوع الوثيقة: Working Paper
URL الوصول: http://arxiv.org/abs/2304.11543
رقم الانضمام: edsarx.2304.11543
قاعدة البيانات: arXiv