4,231 research outputs found
Particles with selective wetting affect spinodal decomposition microstructures
We have used mesoscale simulations to study the effect of immobile particles
on microstructure formation during spinodal decomposition in ternary mixtures
such as polymer blends. Specifically, we have explored a regime of
interparticle spacings (which are a few times the characteristic spinodal
length scale) in which we might expect interesting new effects arising from
interactions among wetting, spinodal decomposition and coarsening. In this
paper, we report three new effects for systems in which the particle phase has
a strong preference for being wetted by one of the components (say, A). In the
presence of particles, microstructures are not bicontinuous in a symmetric
mixture. An asymmetric mixture, on the other hand, first forms a
non-bicontinuous microstructure which then evolves into a bicontinuous one at
intermediate times. Moreover, while wetting of the particle phase by the
preferred component (A) creates alternating A-rich and B-rich layers around the
particles, curvature-driven coarsening leads to shrinking and disappearance of
the first A-rich layer, leaving a layer of the non-preferred component in
contact with the particle. At late simulation times, domains of the matrix
components coarsen following the Lifshitz-Slyozov-Wagner law, .Comment: Accepted for publication in PCCP on 24th May 201
Patterns and Collective Behavior in Granular Media: Theoretical Concepts
Granular materials are ubiquitous in our daily lives. While they have been a
subject of intensive engineering research for centuries, in the last decade
granular matter attracted significant attention of physicists. Yet despite a
major efforts by many groups, the theoretical description of granular systems
remains largely a plethora of different, often contradicting concepts and
approaches. Authors give an overview of various theoretical models emerged in
the physics of granular matter, with the focus on the onset of collective
behavior and pattern formation. Their aim is two-fold: to identify general
principles common for granular systems and other complex non-equilibrium
systems, and to elucidate important distinctions between collective behavior in
granular and continuum pattern-forming systems.Comment: Submitted to Reviews of Modern Physics. Full text with figures (2Mb
pdf) avaliable at
http://mti.msd.anl.gov/AransonTsimringReview/aranson_tsimring.pdf Community
responce is appreciated. Comments/suggestions send to [email protected]
Controlled topological transitions in thin film phase separation
In this paper the evolution of a binary mixture in a thin-film geometry with
a wall at the top and bottom is considered. By bringing the mixture into its
miscibility gap so that no spinodal decomposition occurs in the bulk, a slight
energetic bias of the walls towards each one of the constituents ensures the
nucleation of thin boundary layers that grow until the constituents have moved
into one of the two layers. These layers are separated by an interfacial region
where the composition changes rapidly. Conditions that ensure the separation
into two layers with a thin interfacial region are investigated based on a
phase-field model. Using matched asymptotic expansions a corresponding
sharp-interface problem for the location of the interface is established.
It is then argued that this newly created two-layer system is not at its
energetic minimum but destabilizes into a controlled self-replicating pattern
of trapezoidal vertical stripes by minimizing the interfacial energy between
the phases while conserving their area. A quantitative analysis of this
mechanism is carried out via a thin-film model for the free interfaces, which
is derived asymptotically from the sharp-interface model.Comment: Submitted 23/12/201
Fluctuation-Dissipation relations far from Equilibrium
In this Article we review some recent progresses in the field of
non-equilibrium linear response theory. We show how a generalization of the
fluctuation-dissipation theorem can be derived for Markov processes, and
discuss the Cugliandolo-Kurchan \cite{Cugliandolo93} fluctuation dissipation
relation for aging systems and the theorem by Franz {\it et. al.}
\cite{Franz98} relating static and dynamic properties. We than specialize the
subject to phase-ordering systems examining the scaling properties of the
linear response function and how these are determined by the behavior of
topological defects. We discuss how the connection between statics and dynamics
can be violated in these systems at the lower critical dimension or as due to
stochastic instability.Comment: 18 pages, 10 figure
Domain formation and growth in spinodal decomposition of a binary fluid by molecular dynamics simulations
The two initial stages of spinodal decomposition of a symmetric binary Lennard-Jones fluid have been simulated by molecular dynamics simulations, using a hydrodynamics-conserving thermostat. By analyzing the growth of the average domain size R(t) with time, a satisfactory agreement is found with the R(t)t1/3 Lifshitz-Slyozov growth law for the early diffusion-driven stage of domain formation in a quenched homogeneous mixture. In the subsequent stage of viscous-dominated growth, the mean domain size appears to follow the linear growth law predicted by Siggia
Effect of Shear Flow on the Stability of Domains in Two Dimensional Phase-Separating Binary Fluids
We perform a linear stability analysis of extended domains in
phase-separating fluids of equal viscosity, in two dimensions. Using the
coupled Cahn-Hilliard and Stokes equations, we derive analytically the
stability eigenvalues for long wavelength fluctuations. In the quiescent state
we find an unstable varicose mode which corresponds to an instability towards
coarsening. This mode is stabilized when an external shear flow is imposed on
the fluid. The effect of the shear is seen to be qualitatively similar to that
found in experiments.Comment: 13 pages, RevTeX, 8 eps figures included. Submitted to Phys. Rev.
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