Foam imbibition in microgravity

We report an experimental study of aqueous foam imbibition in microgravity with strict mass conservation. The foam is in a Hele-Shaw cell. The bubble edge width ℓ is measured by image analysis. The penetration of the liquid in the foam, the foam imbibition, the foam inflation, and the rigidity loss are shown all to obey strict diffusion processes. The motion of bubbles needed for the foam inflation is a slow two-dimensional process with respect to the one-dimensional capillary rise of liquid. The foam is found to imbibes faster than it inflates. Received 20 May 2002 / Received in final form 21 January 2003 Published online 23 May 2003 RID="a" ID="a"e-mail: herve.caps@ulg.ac.be     

Front roughening in three-dimensional imbibition

We investigate the structure and dynamics of the interface between two immiscible liquids in a three-dimensional disordered porous medium. We apply a phase-field model that includes explicitly disorder and discuss both spontaneous and forced imbibition. The structure of the interface is dominated by a length scale ξ_× which arises from liquid conservation. We further show that disorder in the capillary and permeability act on different length scales and give rise to different scalings and structures of the interface properties. We conclude with a range of applications.     

Nonlocal dynamics of spontaneous imbibition fronts

We have studied spontaneous imbibition fronts generated by capillary rise between two roughened glass plates, the separation d of which varied between 10 and 50 microm. Perfect agreement with Washburn's law was obtained. We have determined the roughness exponent chi of the fronts, and found chi=0.81+/-0.01 for small length scales. Above a certain crossover length xi, it reached chi=0.58+/-0.04, as predicted by the quenched noise Kardar-Parisi-Zhang equation. The crossover length is found to scale with the plate separation as sqrt[d], as predicted by recent models which properly include nonlocal dynamics effects on the front. We believe this to be the first clear identification of crossover from nonlocal to local dynamics.     

Rapid imbibition of fluids in carbon nanotubes

Carbon nanotubes are potential building blocks for nanofluidic devices. The way fluids flow into and fill nanotubes is therefore of wide interest; however, there are currently no experimental data or theoretical models for this nanoscale process. We have carried out molecular dynamics simulations of nanotubes imbibing oil at an oil/vapor interface at 298 K. We find that nanotubes imbibe very rapidly (相似文献   

Anomalous roughening of viscous fluid fronts in spontaneous imbibition

We report experiments on spontaneous imbibition of a viscous fluid by a model porous medium in the absence of gravity. The average position of the interface satisfies Washburn's law. Scaling of the interface fluctuations suggests a dynamic exponent z approximately 3, indicative of global dynamics driven by capillary forces. The complete set of exponents clearly shows that interfaces are not self-affine, exhibiting distinct local and global scaling, both for time (beta = 0.64 +/- 0.02, beta(*) = 0.33 +/- 0.03) and space (alpha = 1.94 +/- 0.20, alpha(loc) = 0.94 +/- 0.10). These values are compatible with an intrinsic anomalous scaling scenario.     

裂缝-孔隙型双重介质油藏渗吸机理的分形分析

低渗透油藏常常伴随裂缝发育,形成裂缝-基质双重介质.自发渗吸是低渗裂缝性水驱油藏的重要采油机理,有顺向和逆向两种渗吸方式.基于基质孔隙结构的分形特征,引入分形几何对裂缝性双重介质渗吸机理的判据进行了改进,建立了渗吸机理的分形判据模型,并进一步推导了结构常数的解析表达式.结果表明,渗吸机理的判别参数是基质孔隙度、高度、孔隙分形维数、流动迂曲度、最大孔隙直径、界面张力、油水密度差以及接触角的函数.改进后的判据模型与现有结果一致.最后绘制了判别渗吸机理的图版,为利用表面活性剂提高低渗透油藏采收率提供理论依据.     

Conserved dynamics and interface roughening in spontaneous imbibition: A critical overview

Imbibition phenomena have been widely used experimentally and theoretically to study the kinetic roughening of interfaces. We critically discuss the existing experiments and some associated theoretical approaches on the scaling properties of the imbibition front, with particular attention to the conservation law associated to the fluid, to problems arising from the actual structure of the embedding medium, and to external influences such as evaporation and gravity. Our main conclusion is that the scaling of moving interfaces includes many crossover phenomena, with competition between the average capillary pressure gradient and its fluctuations setting the maximal lengthscale for roughening. We discuss the physics of both pinned and moving interfaces and the ability of the existing models to account for their properties. Received 17 February 1999 and Received in final form 24 November 1999     

纸杯中残留苯并(a)芘在食品模拟物中的相对迁移率研究

采用具有高分辨、高灵敏度的导数-恒能量同步荧光法分析测定了不同条件下,纸杯中残留苯并(a)芘在水性模拟液和脂肪模拟液中的迁移量.探讨了模拟物的种类、浸泡时间和温度对纸杯中苯并(a)芘的相对迁移率的影响.结果表明:该分析方法的回收率为89.2～104.3%;纸杯中残留苯并(a)芘在脂肪模拟液中的相对迁移率明显高于水性模拟液的,纸杯盛装冷水时无苯并(a)芘浸出.而用于盛装热水可浸出苯并(a)芘;温度越高,浸泡时间越长,纸杯中苯并(a)芘向食品模拟液的相对迁移率也越大.     

Hydrocarbons imbibition for geometrical characterization of porous media through the effective radius approach

Surface energetic characterization of porous solids usually requires the determination of the contact angle. This quantity is deduced by imbibition experiments carried out in such media with high surface tension liquids. Now then, this methodology needs the geometrical characterization of the porous medium by means of the deduction of its effective radius. Normally, this is made by imbibition experiments with n-alkanes, liquids whose surface tension is low enough as to suppose their contact angles with the solid surface are null. However, this last procedure is not free from some criticisms. Among them, the possible influence of the imbibition velocity on the contact angle, the effect of the precursor liquid film ahead the advancing liquid front on the driving force that gives rise to the movement, or the dependence of the effective radius on the length of the hydrocarbon chain of the n-alkanes. In an attempt of going deeply in these questions, imbibition experiments with n-alkanes have been carried out in porous columns of powdered calcium fluoride. These experiments have consisted of the measurement of the increase in the weight of the columns caused by the migration of the liquids through their interstices. The analysis of their results has been carried out by means of a new procedure based on the study of the velocity profile associated to the weight increase. This analysis has permitted us to conclude that, at least in the calcium fluoride columns, the contact angle of the n-alkane is not influenced by the capillary rise velocity, it taking in fact a null value during the process. On the other hand, it has been also proved that the driving force of the movement is caused by the replacement of the solid-vapour interface by the solid-liquid interface that happens during the imbibition, which means that only the Laplace's pressure, and not the precursor liquid film, contributes to the development of the phenomenon. Finally, it has been compared the values of the effective radius associated to each n-alkane, similar values being found independently from the particular liquid employed in the experiments, fact that indicates that the porous solid can be considered as a bunch of cylindrical and parallel capillaries of the same radius.     

Conserved dynamics and interface roughening in spontaneous imbibition: A phase field model

The propagation and roughening of a fluid-gas interface through a disordered medium in the case of capillary driven spontaneous imbibition is considered. The system is described by a conserved (model B) phase-field model, with the structure of the disordered medium appearing as a quenched random field . The flow of liquid into the medium is obtained by imposing a non-equilibrium boundary condition on the chemical potential, which reproduces Washburn's equation for the slowing down motion of the average interface position H. The interface is found to be superrough, with global roughness exponent , indicating anomalous scaling. The spatial extent of the roughness is determined by a length scale arising from the conservation law. The interface advances by avalanche motion, which causes temporal multiscaling and qualitatively reproduces the experimental results of Horv'ath and Stanley (Phys. Rev. E 52, 5166 (1995)) on the temporal scaling of the interface. Received 24 November 1999     

Investigation of two phase flow and phase trapping by secondary imbibition within Fontainebleau sandstone

Pulsed magnetic field gradient stimulated echo NMR is used to investigate the simultaneous flow of two phases (an aqueous phase and an hydrocarbon phase) within a strongly water-wet sample of Fontainebleau sandstone. The Fontainebleau sandstone is prepared in increasing steady-state water saturations by a secondary imbibition process. The increase in the water saturation causes an increasing fraction of the oil phase (non-wetting phase) to become trapped within the sample. The stimulated echo dependence on the gradient pulse area, q, is used to derive the displacement probability, PX, for a fixed observation time. These displacement probabilities clearly show the progressive trapping of the hydrocarbon phase with increasing steady-state water saturations. Quantitative measurements of the fraction of the oil phase trapped were made from the echo attenuation function Edelta(q), both as a function of water saturation and observation time.     

Effective embedment of activated carbons into the traditional Korean paper ‘Hanji’ and its application to flexible supercapacitors

Demands for flexible electronic equipment such as wearable devices and wrap-round displays have motivated the development of flexible energy storage devices. Although cellulose paper is one of the most promising substrates for flexible devices, its intrinsic limitations, such as poor mechanical durability, hamper its practical use. In this study, we adopted the traditional Korean paper, Hanji, with superior mechanical robustness as a substrate for supercapacitor electrodes. The effective infiltration of activated carbons (ACs) as an electrode material into the dense network of Hanji cellulose fibers was performed by a simultaneous one-pot process of network formation and AC embedment. The fabricated symmetric supercapacitors based on the AC-embedded Hanji electrode exhibited a specific capacitance (C_sp) of 16.0 F/g measured at a scan rate of 10 mV/s with excellent cycle stability, the C_sp retention of 94.5%, over 1000 charge-discharge cycles.     

Geometry of crumpled paper

We measure the geometry of a crumpled sheet of paper with laser-aided topography and discuss its statistical properties. The curvature of an elastoplastic fold scales linearly with applied force. The curvature distribution follows an exponential form with regions of high curvature localized along ridges. The measured ridge length distribution is consistent with a hierarchical model for ridge breaking during crumpling. A large fraction of the ridges are observed to terminate without bifurcating, and the ridge network connectedness is not as complete as anticipated. The self-affinity of the surface is characterized by a Hurst exponent of 0.71+/-0.01 in contrast with previous results.     

Statistics of crumpled paper

A statistical study of crumpled paper is allowed by a minimal 1D model: a self-avoiding line bent at sharp angles--in which the elastic energy resides--put in a confining potential. Many independent equilibrium configurations are generated numerically and their properties are investigated. At small confinement, the distribution of segment lengths is log-normal in agreement with previous predictions and experiments. At high confinement, the system approaches a jammed state with a critical behavior, whereas the length distribution follows a gamma law in which the parameter is predicted as a function of the number of layers in the system.     

Introduction to Jebsen's paper

Brief comment on a 1921 paper by Jebsen.This work provides the first published proof of “Birkhoff's” theorem. The author, who seems to have been an undergraduate at the time (tragically, he died shortly afterwards) understood (as did many others) that Einstein's equations reduced considerably in a “minimal,” namely two-component, metric in a simple gauge such as Schwarzschild's; a good part of the paper is devoted to deriving this interval form.The originality of his work lies instead in showing that time-independence of the exterior Schwarzschild solution need not be assumed, but is a consequence of Einstein's equations.From a modern perspective, it is a bit surprising that this result was not found earlier: for example, Einstein studied the spherical solution in the linearized theory, whose kinship to Maxwell's might have suggested the obvious parallel to charge conservation. In current language, the theorem states gauge theories forbid monopole radiation because they have no helicity zero modes.Editor's note: Further references to early derivations of “Birkhoff's” theorem can be found in [1] and [2] while [3] is one of the few papers that calls it “Jebsen-Birkhoff.” Since few's was written a more detailed biography of Jebsen has now appeared: gr-qc/0508163, by Johausen &; Ravulal. Work supported by NSF Grant PHY04-00609     

Characterization of laser-treated paper

Paper is one of the most important materials in cultural heritage given its extensive use as the data carrier for religious, artistic and scientific records. For both aesthetic and conservation reasons, cleaning of these materials is often needed. Current paper cleaning methods using conventional means are not always sufficient, e.g. for the local cleaning of paper in the vicinity of sensitive media. In this respect a ns-pulse laser provides a valuable tool for solving difficult cleaning problems. The influence of various laser wavelengths (355 nm, 532 nm, and 1064 nm) and the ageing status of modern paper test systems were studied. Colorimetric measurements, the determination of the average molecular mass of cellulose, and chemiluminescence analysis proved to be useful for the characterization of the laser-treated paper. Treatment with green laser light at =532 nm below the paper ablation threshold fluence gave the most promising results on pure papers, with no discolouration and no other visible alteration, nor detectable chemical changes. PACS 06.60.J; 78.60.Ps; 81.65.Cf