TY - JOUR
T1 - Experimental evidence of reaction-driven miscible viscous fingering
AU - Riolfo, Luis Atilio
AU - Nagatsu, Yuichiro
AU - Iwata, Shuji
AU - Maes, Renaud
AU - Trevelyan, Philip
AU - De Wit, Anne
N1 - Copyright © 2012 American Physical Society.
PY - 2012/1/30
Y1 - 2012/1/30
N2 - An experimental demonstration of reaction-driven viscous fingering developing when a more viscous solution of a reactant A displaces a less viscous miscible solution of another reactant B is presented. In the absence of reaction, such a displacement of one fluid by another less mobile one is classically stable. However, a simple A+ B→ C reaction can destabilize this interface if the product C is either more or less viscous than both reactant solutions. Using the pH dependence of the viscosity of some polymer solutions, we provide experimental evidence of both scenarios. We demonstrate quantitatively that reactive viscous fingering results from the buildup in time of nonmonotonic viscosity profiles with patterns behind or ahead of the reaction zone, depending on whether the product is more or less viscous than the reactants. The experimental findings are backed up by numerical simulations.
AB - An experimental demonstration of reaction-driven viscous fingering developing when a more viscous solution of a reactant A displaces a less viscous miscible solution of another reactant B is presented. In the absence of reaction, such a displacement of one fluid by another less mobile one is classically stable. However, a simple A+ B→ C reaction can destabilize this interface if the product C is either more or less viscous than both reactant solutions. Using the pH dependence of the viscosity of some polymer solutions, we provide experimental evidence of both scenarios. We demonstrate quantitatively that reactive viscous fingering results from the buildup in time of nonmonotonic viscosity profiles with patterns behind or ahead of the reaction zone, depending on whether the product is more or less viscous than the reactants. The experimental findings are backed up by numerical simulations.
UR - http://journals.aps.org/pre/abstract/10.1103/PhysRevE.85.015304
U2 - 10.1103/PhysRevE.85.015304
DO - 10.1103/PhysRevE.85.015304
M3 - Article
SN - 2470-0045
VL - 85
JO - Physical Review E - Statistical, Nonlinear, and Soft Matter Physics
JF - Physical Review E - Statistical, Nonlinear, and Soft Matter Physics
IS - 1
M1 - 015304
ER -