New slip regimes and the shape of dewetting thin liquid films

We compare the flow behavior of liquid polymer films on silicon wafers coated with either octadecyl-(OTS) or dodecyltrichlorosilane (DTS). Our experiments show that dewetting on DTS is significantly faster than on OTS. We argue that this is tied to the difference in the solid/liquid friction. As the film dewets, the profile of the rim advancing into the undisturbed film is monotonically decaying on DTS but has an oscillatory structure on OTS. For the first time we can describe this transition in terms of a lubrication model with a Navier-slip condition for the flow of a viscous Newtonian liquid.     

Instabilities of thermocapillary-buoyancy convection in open rectangular liquid layers

This article presents the experimental investigation on instabilities of thermocapillary-buoyancy convection in the transition process in an open rectangular liquid layer subject to a horizontal temperature gradient. In the experimental run,an infrared thermal imaging system was constructed to observe and record the surface wave of the rectangular liquid layer. It was found that there are distinct convection longitudinal rolls in the flow field in the thermocapillary-buoyancy convection transition process. There are different wave characterizations for liquid layers with different thicknesses. For sufficiently thin layers, oblique hydrothermal waves are observed, which was predicted by the linear-stability analysis of Smith Davis in 1983. For thicker layers, the surface flow is distinct and intensified, which is because the buoyancy convection plays a dominant role and bulk fluid flow from hot wall to cold wall in the free surface of liquid layers. In addition, the spatiotemporal evolution analysis has been carried out to conclude the rule of the temperature field destabilization in the transition process.     

Liquid optical fibers with a multistable core actuated by light radiation pressure

We report on spatiotemporal behavior of self-adapted dielectric liquid columns generated and sustained by light radiation pressure. We show that single- or multivalued liquid column diameter depends on the excitation light beam. When the beam diameter is sufficiently small, we observe a well-defined stationary column diameter. In contrast, at a larger beam diameter, the liquid column experiences complex spatiotemporal dynamics whose statistical analysis evidences an underlying multistable structure. Experimental observations are all supported by a full electromagnetic model that accounts for the wave guiding properties of the liquid column viewed as a step-index liquid-core liquid-cladding optical fiber having an optically tunable core diameter.     

Dynamique non-linéaire d'instabilités de surface : gouttes et colonnes liquides formées par ruissellement de films

The destabilization of a thin film by gravity is of central importance in many industrial devices, especially those involved in Thermics (film boiling, heat exchangers). In the simplest case of a liquid film hanging below a solid ceiling, spatial structures are forced by the destabilizing action of gravity (Rayleigh-Taylor instability): one observes regular lattices of pendant drops, that in turn become instable by coalescences and falling of the drops. When the film is supplied with liquid at a constant rate, other flow regimes are observed: periodic emission of drops, formation of regular arrays of liquid columns, liquid sheet. Liquid columns exhibit a collective dynamics that is typical of non-linear systems: modulations of their spatial periodicity, diffusion of the perturbations, self-sustained oscillations, propagation of solitary dilation waves, coalescences and nucleations of the columns, etc.     

Statistical analysis of the transition to turbulence in plane Couette flow

We argue on general grounds that the transition to turbulence in plane Couette flow is best studied experimentally at a statistical level. We present such a statistical analysis of experimental data guided by a parallel investigation of a simple coupled map lattice model for spatiotemporal intermittency. We confirm that this generic type of spatiotemporal chaos is relevant in the context of plane Couette flow, where the linear stability of the laminar regime at all Reynolds numbers insures the necessary local subcriticality. Using large ensembles of similar experiments, we show the existence of a well-defined threshold Reynolds number above which a unique, turbulent, intermittent attractor coexists with the laminar flow. Furthermore, our data reveals that this transition to spatiotemporal intermittency is discontinuous, i.e. akin to a first-order phase transition. Received: 10 April 1998 / Revised: 22 June 1998 / Accepted: 24 June 1998     

微液膜动力学特性与稳定性实验研究

气-液两相流设备的性能受限于临界热流密度,开展流动微液膜动力学特性及其稳定性的相关研究是深入理解沸腾危机及临界热流密度机理的关键。采用光学玻璃制成的矩形通道作为实验段,使用微流量齿轮泵驱动去离子水,使其在实验通道入口处与在其上部流动的压缩空气接触形成同向流动的分层流。利用共轭光学探测器对流动微液膜的厚度进行了测量,利用高速摄像机对气-液两相分层流波动特性进行了可视化观测。研究表明,在绝热情况下,当液速一定时,液膜的平均厚度随着气速增加而减小,当气速增加到某一阈值时会导致液膜破裂。     

Ordering classification of columnar lattices formed in magnetic fluid subjected to perpendicular fields

When the thin film of high-quality magnetic fluid is subjected to a perpendicular magnetic field, a separation of particles from the liquid matrix will occur, leading to a phase transition with a phase that is concentrated in particles separating from a dilute phase. The concentrated phase makes up the cylindrical columns that can form two-dimensional lattices. We have explored the field-induced lattices with optical microscopy, digital imaging and computer-video techniques in this study, to classify the ordering property in terms of bond-orientation order.     

Structures of a continuously fed two-dimensional viscous film under a destabilizing gravitational force

We study the gravity induced instability of a liquid film formed below a plane grid which is used as a porous media in an original hydrodynamic experiment. The film is continuously supplied with a controlled flow rate. We give through a phase diagram the full spectrum of the different flow regimes and we investigate the dynamics of the observed structures. True secondary instabilities of a 2D periodic pattern are described. The control parameters are the flow rate and the viscosity.     

Stabilization of discotic liquid organic thin films by ITO surface treatment

Discotic liquid crystals (LCs) are promising materials in the field of electronic components and, in particular, to make efficient photovoltaic cells due to their good charge transport properties. These materials generally exhibit a mesophase in which the disk-shaped molecules can self-assemble into columns, which favorize charge displacement, and may align themselves uniformly on surfaces to form well-oriented thin films. In order to orientate such a columnar thin film on an indium tin oxide (ITO) substrate, the film is heated up to the temperature range of the isotropic liquid phase and subsequently cooled down again. This treatment may lead not only to the desired alignment, but also to dewetting, which leads to an appreciable inhomogeneity in film thickness and to short circuits during the realization of photovoltaic cells. In this article, we describe how this dewetting and the film morphology can be influenced by ITO surface treatments. The chemical modifications of the surface by these treatments were studied by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). Such ITO treatments are shown to be efficient to prevent thin film dewetting when combined with rapid cooling through the isotropic-to-LC phase transition.     

Spreading of a viscous liquid film over the corrugated surface and the heat and mass transfer calculations

There are a lot of industrial applications of structured packing. Distillation columns are one of the examples where the liquid flows over the corrugated surface as a thin film to provide a good mass-transfer surface between the liquid and vapor phase. The purpose of the present paper is to study the hydrodynamics and the heat-mass transfer of the liquid film spreading down the corrugated surfaces when the corrugation amplitude is comparable with Nusselt’s film thickness (the amplitude corresponds to a small texture of the structured packing). As a result, a nonlinear type diffusion equation is obtained to describe the evolution of the film thickness profile. The nonlinear diffusion coefficient is obtained for three cases: a smooth inclined plate, a corrugated plate with large ribs, and an inclined corrugated plate with small ribs. The equations are solved numerically. As a result, it has been obtained that the small texture significantly increases the rate of the film thickness evolution in comparison with a smooth plate. To obtain the nonlinear diffusion coefficient in the case of a small texture, the hydrodynamics of the film flow over an inclined corrugated surface are studied. The viscosity, inertia, and surface tension forces are taken into account. The calculations were carried out on the basis of the Navier-Stokes equations. The influence of the microcorrugations on both the heat transfer from the wall and the mass transfer through the free surface was investigated.     

工质对微通道沸腾液膜瞬态变化的影响

本文采用去离子水和无水乙醇两种工质,利用微通道流动沸腾同步测量实验系统,研究了液膜厚度的瞬态变化规律,实验发现流动沸腾形成的初始液膜厚度在毛细数Ca很宽的范围内都遵循Taylor流动原理;液膜形成后,在蒸发和蒸汽流动携带的耦合作用下,厚度迅速减薄直至蒸干;由于水的汽液黏度比小,速度梯度小,剪切作用带来的液膜厚度减少量小,且水的汽化潜热大,吸收相同热量时蒸发量小,导致水的液膜厚度变化斜率较小,通过理论分析提出了沸腾液膜厚度变化的计算模型,计算结果与实验结果的误差小于20%。     

Avoided critical behavior in dynamically forced wetting

A solid object can be coated by a nonwetting liquid since a receding contact line cannot exceed a critical speed. In this Letter we study the dynamical wetting transition at which a liquid film gets deposited by withdrawing a vertical plate out of a liquid reservoir. It has recently been predicted that this wetting transition is critical with diverging time scales and coincides with the disappearance of stationary menisci. We demonstrate experimentally and theoretically that the transition is due to the formation of a solitary wave, well below the critical point. As a consequence, relaxation times remain finite at threshold. The structure of the liquid deposited on the plate involves a capillary ridge that does not trivially match the Landau-Levich film.     

Dry microfoams: formation and flow in a confined channel

We present an experimental investigation of the agglomeration of microbubbles into a 2D microfoam and its flow in a rectangular microchannel. Using a flow-focusing method, we produce the foam in situ on a microfluidic chip for a large range of liquid fractions, down to a few percent in liquid. We can monitor the transition from separated bubbles to the desired microfoam, in which bubbles are closely packed and separated by thin films. We find that bubble formation frequency is limited by the liquid flow rate, whatever the gas pressure. The formation frequency creates a modulation of the foam flow, rapidly damped along the channel. The average foam flow rate depends non-linearly on the applied gas pressure, displaying a threshold pressure due to capillarity. Strong discontinuities in the flow rate appear when the number of bubbles in the channel width changes, reflecting the discrete nature of the foam topology. We also produce an ultra flat foam, reducing the channel height from 250 μm to 8 μm, resulting in a height to diameter ratio of 0.02; we notice a marked change in bubble shape during the flow.     

A coupled map lattice model for rheological chaos in sheared nematic liquid crystals

A variety of complex fluids under shear exhibit complex spatiotemporal behavior, including what is now termed rheological chaos, at moderate values of the shear rate. Such chaos associated with rheological response occurs in regimes where the Reynolds number is very small. It must thus arise as a consequence of the coupling of the flow to internal structural variables describing the local state of the fluid. We propose a coupled map lattice model for such complex spatiotemporal behavior in a passively sheared nematic liquid crystal using local maps constructed so as to accurately describe the spatially homogeneous case. Such local maps are coupled diffusively to nearest and next-nearest neighbors to mimic the effects of spatial gradients in the underlying equations of motion. We investigate the dynamical steady states obtained as parameters in the map and the strength of the spatial coupling are varied, studying local temporal properties at a single site as well as spatiotemporal features of the extended system. Our methods reproduce the full range of spatiotemporal behavior seen in earlier one-dimensional studies based on partial differential equations. We report results for both the one- and two-dimensional cases, showing that spatial coupling favors uniform or periodically time-varying states, as intuitively expected. We demonstrate and characterize regimes of spatiotemporal intermittency out of which chaos develops. Our work indicates that similar simplified lattice models of the dynamics of complex fluids under shear should provide useful ways to access and quantify spatiotemporal complexity in such problems, in addition to representing a fast and numerically tractable alternative to continuum representations.     

Patterns at the onset of electroconvection in freely suspended smectic films

We report the results of experiments on electrically driven convection that occurs in a thin, freely suspended film of smectic A liquid crystal when an electric field is applied in the plane of the film. Convection in a vortex pattern is found above a well-defined critical voltage. The film behaves as a two-dimensional isotropic liquid: neither its thickness nor the director field are modified by the flow. We present measurements of the critical voltage at the onset of convection in two experimental configurations—one which allows the injection of charges into the film from the electrodes, and one which does not. When injection is present, the critical voltage for the onset of flow increases monotonically with increasing frequency of applied field. With no injection, there is no instability at DC and the critical voltage diverges there. The nature of the flow pattern observed at onset changes with frequency. Below a certain frequency the film flows in vortices that extend over the width of the film; above this frequency the flow is confined to two lines of smaller vortices localized along the electrodes. We present a simple discussion of the mechanisms which drive the convection.     

Morphology of open films of discotic hexagonal columnar liquid crystals as probed by grazing incidence X-ray diffraction

The structure and the orientation of thermotropic hexagonal columnar liquid crystals are studied by grazing incidence X-ray diffraction (GIXD) for different discotic compounds in the geometry of open supported thin films. Whatever the film deposition mode (either spin-coating or vacuum evaporation) and the film thickness, a degenerate planar alignment with the liquid crystalline columns parallel to the substrate is found. However, if a specific thermal process is applied to the liquid crystal film, homeotropic anchoring (columns normal to the interface) can be stabilized in a metastable state.     

Estimation of the Possibility of Using the Classical Theory of Nucleation in the Calculation of the Limiting Superheat for a Metastable Liquid in the Region of Onset of Nucleate Boiling

Experimental data obtained at VTI for the onset of nucleate boiling of water in a uniformly heated pipe with a diameter of 5.77 and 6.34 mm at a mass flow rate Wj = 1400–5000 kg/(m2 s) and at a pressure of P = 9.81, 14.7, 19.62 MPa are presented in comparison with a theoretical calculation on the homogeneous nucleation mechanism in a metastable liquid for the liquid superheating limits obtained using the classical Gibbs formula [1]. It is assumed that the thermodynamic instability of the process in the area under the spinodal affects the breakage of metastable liquid films with the formation of holes through the entire thickness thereof, which ultimately leads to the formation of unwettable dry spots (spinodal dewetting) and causes a spontaneous transition to the film boiling mode.     

Thick films of viscous fluid coating a plate withdrawn from a liquid reservoir

We consider the deposition of a film of viscous liquid on a flat plate being withdrawn from a bath, experimentally and theoretically. For any plate speed U, there is a range of "thick" film solutions whose thickness scales like U{1/2} for small U. These solutions are realized for a partially wetting liquid, while for a perfectly wetting liquid the classical Landau-Levich-Derjaguin film is observed, whose thickness scales like U{2/3}. The thick film is distinguished from the Landau-Levich-Derjaguin film by a dip in its spatial profile at the transition to the bath. We calculate the phase diagram for the existence of stationary film solutions as well as the film profiles and find excellent agreement with experiment.     

Strong suppression of the Kosterlitz-Thouless transition in a 4He film under high pressure

We have found that the surface specularity for 3He quasiparticle scattering is closely related to the superfluidity and the Kosterlitz-Thouless (KT) transition of 4He film adsorbed on the surface. The specularity is determined by measurements of the transverse acoustic impedance of bulk liquid 3He. The unique point of our system is that we can control the correlation among 4He atoms in the film by changing the pressure of the bulk 3He. The observed KT transition temperature is significantly suppressed by increasing the pressure, which suggests a strong correlation effect on KT transition.