Phys. Rev. Lett. 86, 4704–4707 (2001)

Dynamics of Coarsening Foams: Accelerated and Self-Limiting Drainage

Abstract

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Sascha Hilgenfeldt^1,2,*, Stephan A. Koehler¹, and Howard A. Stone¹
¹Division of Engineering and Applied Sciences, Pierce Hall, Harvard University, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02138
²Faculty of Applied Physics, University of Twente, P.O. Box 217, 7500 AE Enschede, The Netherlands

Received 13 July 2000; published in the issue dated 14 May 2001

See accompanying Physics Focus

The evolution of a foam is determined by drainage flow of the continuous (liquid) phase and coarsening (aging) of the dispersed phase (gas bubbles). Free-drainage experiments with slow- and fast-coarsening gases show markedly different dynamics and elucidate the importance of the coupling of the two effects. Strong coarsening leads to drainage times that are shorter (accelerated drainage) and independent of the initial liquid content (self-limiting drainage). A model incorporating the physics of both drainage and diffusive coarsening shows quantitative agreement with experiment.

URL:

http://link.aps.org/doi/10.1103/PhysRevLett.86.4704

DOI:

10.1103/PhysRevLett.86.4704

PACS:

82.70.Rr, 47.55.Mh, 66.10.-x, 68.03.-g

^*Email address: sascha@tn.utwente.nl

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Phys. Rev. Lett. 86, 4704–4707 (2001)

Dynamics of Coarsening Foams: Accelerated and Self-Limiting Drainage