Fluctuations and Pinch-Offs Observed in Viscous Fingering

Details Fluctuations and Pinch-Offs Observed in Viscous Fingering Fluctuations and Pinch-Offs Observed in Viscous Fingering

2002-10-14

arxiv.org/abs/cond-mat/0210307v1

Physics

Condensed Matter

Soft Condensed Matter

6 pages, 3 figures; to appear in Proceedings of the Seventh Experimental Chaos Conference

Scientific paper

10.1063/1.1612212

Our experiments on viscous (Saffman-Taylor) fingering in Hele-Shaw channels reveal several phenomena that were not observed in previous experiments. At low flow rates, growing fingers undergo width fluctuations that intermittently narrow the finger as they evolve. The magnitude of these fluctuations is proportional to Ca^{-0.64}, where Ca is the capillary number, which is proportional to the finger velocity. This relation holds for all aspect ratios studied up to the onset of tip instabilities. At higher flow rates, finger pinch-off and reconnection events are observed. These events appear to be caused by an interaction between the actively growing finger and suppressed fingers at the back of the channel. Both the fluctuation and pinch-off phenomena are robust but not explained by current theory.

Affiliated with

Also associated with

No associations

Rating

Fluctuations and Pinch-Offs Observed in Viscous Fingering does not yet have a rating. At this time, there are no reviews or comments for this scientific paper.

If you have personal experience with Fluctuations and Pinch-Offs Observed in Viscous Fingering, we encourage you to share that experience with our LandOfFree.com community. Your opinion is very important and Fluctuations and Pinch-Offs Observed in Viscous Fingering will most certainly appreciate the feedback.

Rate now

Comments { 0 }

Profile ID: LFWR-SCP-O-412037