Fluid dynamics of evolving foams

The physical properties of many multiphase systems are determined by coarsening phenomena. From raindrops to polycrystal grains and foams, the formation and stability of these systems continuously evolve towards lower-energy configurations through events such as coalescence, Ostwald ripening and dra...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:Physical chemistry chemical physics : PCCP 2009-01, Vol.11 (46), p.10860-10866
Main Authors: Verdejo, Raquel, Tapiador, Francisco J, Helfen, Lukas, Bernal, M Mar, Bitinis, Natacha, Lopez-Manchado, Miguel A
Format: Article
Language:English
Citations: Items that this one cites
Items that cite this one
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:The physical properties of many multiphase systems are determined by coarsening phenomena. From raindrops to polycrystal grains and foams, the formation and stability of these systems continuously evolve towards lower-energy configurations through events such as coalescence, Ostwald ripening and drainage. Here we propose a procedure to identify and characterise key topological transformations of coarsening phenomena using a physically-based fluid dynamic framework. In situ, real-time foaming processes of a polymeric matrix reinforced with two morphologically different nanofillers, carbon nanotubes and graphene sheets were observed by synchrotron X-ray radioscopy. We obtained detailed information on the evolution of the growth patterns and coarsening events. Filled samples showed differences in both trend and speed compared with the unfilled sample. Furthermore, we found different dominating coarsening phenomena due to the wetting nature of carbon nanoparticles. Our procedure can be extended to sequences of any type of 2D projection or 3D images and to other multiphase systems.
ISSN:1463-9076
1463-9084
DOI:10.1039/b913262g