Origin of the slow linear viscoelastic response of aqueous foams

We have studied the slow linear viscoelastic response of wet aqueous foams by macroscopic creep compliance measurements, combined to a diffusing-wave spectroscopy investigation of the local dynamics. The data strongly suggest that this rheological response arises from two distinct relaxation mechanisms: The first is due to the coarsening induced bubble rearrangements and governs the steady-state creep; the second results from the interplay between surface tension and surface viscosity of the gas-liquid interfaces and gives rise to a transient relaxation.