Deformation of soap bubbles in uniform magnetic fields.

The deformation of hemispherical sessile bubbles made of ferrofluid soap under vertical uniform magnetic fields was studied using Helmholtz coils. The deformation and the shape of the bubbles were monitored according to the amplitude of the magnetic field, the initial volume of the bubbles and the ferrofluid volume used to create them. The meniscus was found to bear most of the deformation, reshaping into a cylinder, with the remainder of the bubble forming a spherical cap, mainly adapting to the meniscus transformation. The growth of the meniscus height was rationalised using a simple model. More precisely, the meniscus shape depends on the competition between capillary, gravity and magnetic effects. These three ingredients can be rewritten to highlight two characteristic lengths of the system: the capillary and the magnetic lengths. Depending on the magnetic field intensity, the shape of the meniscus is described by one of the two lengths, thus revealing the existence of two distinct regimes.

Locally induced laminar convection in liquid nitrogen and silicone oils.

We present an experimental study of a laminar convective phenomenon induced by a centimetric heater totally immersed in a liquid pool (Rayleigh number ranging from 10(4) to 10(7)). This local heating is observed to induce a laminar convection that differs from the classical Rayleigh-Bénard cells created by heating the whole bottom of the fluid: the convection pattern is no more periodic. In order to obtain a complete map of the velocity field, we use Particle Image Velocimetry technique. The vertical velocity between the counter-rotating convective cells is used as the relevant physical parameter to describe the phenomenon. The potential cooling applications of this problem lead us to choose liquid nitrogen as an experimental fluid. We thus compare the results obtained for various temperature gradients in liquid nitrogen with experiments performed at room temperature with silicone oils of various viscosities. The theoretical law for the maximal vertical velocity from classical Rayleigh-Bénard experiments is adapted to the specific geometry investigated by using a new definition for the characteristic wavelength. This length is studied and appears to be dependent on the liquid properties. We finally obtain a remarkable agreement between theory and experimental data.

Rotation of melting ice disks due to melt fluid flow.

We report experiments concerning the melting of ice disks (85 mm in diameter and 14 mm in height) at the surface of a thermalized water bath. During the melting, the ice disks undergo translational and rotational motions. In particular, the disks rotate. The rotation speed has been found to increase with the bath temperature. We investigated the flow under the bottom face of the ice disks by a particle image velocimetry technique. We find that the flow goes downwards and also rotates horizontally, so that a vertical vortex is generated under the ice disk. The proposed mechanism is the following. In the vicinity of the bottom face of the disk, the water eventually reaches the temperature of 4 °C for which the water density is maximum. The 4 °C water sinks and generates a downwards plume. The observed vertical vorticity results from the flow in the plume. Finally, by viscous entrainment, the horizontal rotation of the flow induces the solid rotation of the ice block. This mechanism seems generic: any vertical flow that generates a vortex will induce the rotation of a floating object.

Resonant and antiresonant bouncing droplets.

When placed onto a vibrating liquid bath, a droplet may adopt a permanent bouncing behavior, depending on both the forcing frequency and the forcing amplitude. The relationship between the droplet deformations and the bouncing mechanism is studied experimentally and theoretically through an asymmetric and dissipative bouncing spring model. Antiresonance phenomena are evidenced. Experiments and theoretical predictions show that both resonance at specific frequencies and antiresonance at Rayleigh frequencies play crucial roles in the bouncing mechanism. In particular, we show that they could be exploited for bouncing droplet size selection.

Surface tension profiles in vertical soap films.

Surface tension profiles in vertical soap films are experimentally investigated. Measurements are performed by introducing deformable elastic objets in the films. The shape adopted by those objects once set in the film is related to the surface tension value at a given vertical position by numerically solving the adapted elasticity equations. We show that the observed dependency of the surface tension versus the vertical position is predicted by simple modeling that takes into account the mechanical equilibrium of the films coupled to previous thickness measurements.

Faraday instability at foam-water interface.

A nearly two-dimensional foam is generated inside a Hele-shaw cell and left at rest on its liquid bath. The system is then vertically shaken and, above a well-defined acceleration threshold, surface waves appear at the foam-liquid interface. Those waves are shown to be subharmonic. The acceleration threshold is studied and compared to the common liquid-gas case, emphasizing the energy dissipation inside the foam. An empirical model is proposed for this energy loss, accounting for the foam characteristics such as the bubble size but also the excitation parameter, namely the linear velocity.

Single thermal plume in locally heated vertical soap films.

A vertical soap film is maintained by injection of a soap solution from the top. The film is then locally heated. Thermal plumes may be observed to rise in the film, depending on the magnitude of the heating and injected flows. The nearly two-dimensional nature of the system allows to visualize the motion of the plumes using an infrared camera. A model is proposed to describe the growth, emergence, and stationarity of the plumes in the film by taking into account both magnitudes of the heating ΔT and injected flow Q.

Impact of liquid droplets on granular media.

The crater formation due to the impact of a water droplet onto a granular bed has been experimentally investigated. Three parameters were tuned: the impact velocity, the size of the droplet, and the size of the grains. The aim is to determine the influence of the kinetic energy on the droplet pattern. The shape of the crater depends on the kinetic energy at the moment the droplet starts to impact the bed. The spreading and recession of the liquid during the impact were carefully analyzed from the dynamical point of view, using image analysis of high-speed video recordings. The different observed regimes are characterized by the balance between the impregnation time of the water by the granular bed by the water and the capillary time responsible for the recession of the drop.

Effect of a capillary meniscus on the Faraday instability threshold.

Threshold for Faraday instability has been experimentally measured for slightly viscous liquids. Changing the size of the container containing the fluid allows us to emphasize the role played by the capillary meniscus on the onset for instability. As the container is getting smaller, an upset of the critical acceleration is observed. Below a given container diameter, eigenmodes are observed along the stability curve. A dissipation term is proposed for considering the viscous dissipation against the walls of the container.

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.

Foaming dynamics in Hele-Shaw cells.

We have studied foaming dynamics in Hele-Shaw cells partially filled with a soap and water mixture. A series of upside-down flips produces an intermittent wetting of the cell and leads to foam formation. As a function of the number of flips, an increasing number of bubbles composes the foam, until saturation is observed. Statistical analysis shows that the bubble size follows a Gamma distribution. Contrary to common belief, this foaming dynamics by "shaking" creates homogeneous foam, even though the system may pass through transient heterogeneous configurations. A mechanistic interpretation is proposed and included into a theoretical model.

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.

Rolling and slipping motion of Euler's disk.

We present an experimental study of the motion of a circular disk spun onto a table. With the help of a high speed video system, the temporal evolution of (i) the inclination angle alpha, (ii) the angular velocity omega, and (iii) the precession rate Omega are studied. The influence of the mass of the disk as well as the friction between the disk and the supporting surface are considered. Both inclination angle and angular velocity are observed to decrease according to a power law. We also show that the precession rate diverges as the motion stops. Measurements are performed very near the collapse as well as on long range times. Times to collapse have been also measured. Results are compared with previous theoretical and experimental works. The major source of energy dissipation is found to be the slipping of the disk on the plane.

Granular size segregation in underwater sand ripples.

We report an experimental study of a binary sand bed under an oscillating water flow. The formation and evolution of ripples is observed. The appearance of a granular segregation is shown to strongly depend on the sand bed preparation. The initial wavelength of the mixture is measured. In the final steady state, a segregation in volume is observed instead of a segregation at the surface as reported before. The correlation between this phenomenon and the fluid flow is emphasised. Finally, different "exotic" patterns and their geophysical implications are presented.

Granular spirals on erodible sand bed submitted to a circular fluid motion.

An experimental study of a granular surface submitted to a circular fluid motion is presented. The appearance of an instability along the sand-water interface is observed beyond a critical radius r(c). This creates ripples with a spiral shape on the granular surface. A phase diagram of such patterns is constructed and discussed as a function of the rotation speed omega of the flow and as a function of the height of water h above the surface. The study of r(c) as a function of h, omega, and r parameters is reported. Thereafter, r(c) is shown to depend on the rotation speed according to a power law. The ripple wavelength is found to decrease when the rotation speed increases and is proportional to the radial distance r. The azimuthal angle epsilon of the spiral arms is studied. It is found that epsilon scales with homegar. This lead to the conclusion that epsilon depends on the fluid momentum. Comparison with experiments performed with fluids allows us to state that the spiral patterns are not the signature of an instability of the boundary layer.

Labyrinthine granular landscapes.

We have numerically studied a model of granular landscape eroded by wind. We show the appearance of labyrinthic patterns when the wind orientation turns by 90 degrees. The occurrence of such structures is discussed. Moreover, we introduce the density n(k) of "defects" as the dynamic parameter governing the landscape evolution. A power-law behavior of n(k) is found as a function of time. In the case of wind variations, the exponent (drastically) shifts from two to one. The presence of two asymptotic values of n(k) implies the irreversibility of the labyrinthic formation process.

Ripple and kink dynamics.

We propose a relevant modification of the Nishimori-Ouchi model [Phys. Rev. Lett. 71, 197 (1993)] for granular landscape erosion. We explicitly introduce an additional parameter: the angle of repose straight theta(r), and an additional process: avalanches. We show that the straight theta(r) parameter leads to an asymmetry of the ripples, as observed in natural patterns. The temporal evolution of the maximum ripple height h(max) is limited and not linear according to recent observations. The ripple symmetry and the kink dynamics are studied and discussed.