Self-crumpling elastomers: bending induced by the drying stimulus of a nanoparticle suspension

We report an experimental study of the drying-induced peeling of a bilayer, consisting of an elastomeric disk coated with a suspension of nanoparticles. We show that although capillary forces associated with the scale of the droplet can not compete with the adhesion of the elastomer on a surface, nevertheless large tensile stresses develop in the coating, which results in a moment bending the bilayer. We attribute this stress to the nano-menisci in the pores of the colloidal material and we propose a model that describes successfully the early stage curvature of the bilayer. Thus, we show that the peeling can be conveniently controlled by the particle size and the coating thickness.Comment: 6 pages, 5 figures, 1 table, accepted in EP

Coffee-stain growth dynamics on dry and wet surfaces

The drying of a drop containing particles often results in the accumulation of the particles at the contact line. In this work, we investigate the drying of an aqueous colloidal drop surrounded by a hydrogel that is also evaporating. We combine theoretical and experimental studies to understand how the surrounding vapor concentration affects the particle deposit during the constant radius evaporation mode. In addition to the common case of evaporation on an otherwise dry surface, we show that in a configuration where liquid is evaporating from a flat surface around the drop, the singularity of the evaporative flux at the contact line is suppressed and the drop evaporation is homogeneous. For both conditions, we derive the velocity field and we establish the temporal evolution of the number of particles accumulated at the contact line. We predict the growth dynamics of the stain and the drying timescales. Thus, dry and wet conditions are compared with experimental results and we highlight that only the dynamics is modified by the evaporation conditions, not the final accumulation at the contact line

Instability and morphology of polymer solutions coating a fiber

We report an experimental study on the dynamics of a thin film of polymer solution coating a vertical fiber. The liquid film has first a constant thickness and then undergoes the Rayleigh-Plateau instability which leads to the formation of sequences of drops, separated by a thin film, moving down at a constant velocity. Different polymer solutions are used, i.e. xanthan solutions and polyacrylamide (PAAm) solutions. These solutions both exhibit shear-rate dependence of the viscosity, but for PAAm solutions, there are strong normal stresses in addition of the shear-thinning effect. We characterize experimentally and separately the effects of these two non-Newtonian properties on the flow on the fiber. Thus, in the flat film observed before the emergence of the drops, only shear-thinning effect plays a role and tends to thin the film compared to the Newtonian case. The effect of the non-Newtonian rheology on the Rayleigh-Plateau instability is then investigated through the measurements of the growth rate and the wavelength of the instability. Results are in good agreement with linear stability analysis for a shear-thinning fluid. The effect of normal stress can be taken into account by considering an effective surface tension which tends to decrease the growth rate of the instability. Finally, the dependence of the morphology of the drops with the normal stress is investigated and a simplified model including the normal stress within the lubrication approximation provides good quantitative results on the shape of the drops.Comment: Accepted in Journal of Fluid Mechanic

Annular cracks in thin films of nanoparticle suspensions drying on a fiber

We report an experimental study of the crack pattern formed during the drying of a colloidal suspension. A horizontal fiber, which provides a one dimensional, boundary-free substrate, is coated by a film of micronic thickness. The geometry imposes a remarkable annular crack pattern and allowing precise measurements of the crack spacing over a short range of film thickness (between 2 and 10 $\mu$m) which varies linearly with the film height. We compare our experimental data with a model proposed by Kitsunezaki which suggests that the variation of the crack spacing with the film thickness depends on the ratio between a critical stress at cracking and a critical stress for slipping on the substrate. By measuring the friction force of the colloidal gels on a hydrophobic surface through a cantilever technique, we can deduce the critical crack stress for these colloidal gels simply by measuring the crack spacing of the pattern.Comment: Accepted in EP

La production de bijoux de verre dans l'espace islamique médiéval et tardif : la question d'un artisanat spécialisé

Le colloque s'est déroulé quelques mois avant la soutenance de thèse en 2006, le texte a été repris pour la publication; il s'agit d'une partie d'un chapitre de la thèse. Les annales sont parues un peu tardivement en septembre 2009.International audienceA partir des sources textuelles médiévales, archéologiques, des données ethnographiques, l'article, publication des actes d'un colloque s'étant déroulé à Anvers (Belgique) en 2006, s'interroge sur la question de l'organisation de la production de bijoux de verre dans l'espace islamique médiéval et tardif

Drop impact on a flexible fiber

When droplets impact fibrous media, the liquid can be captured by the fibers or contact then break away. Previous studies have shown that the efficiency of drop capture by a rigid fiber depends on the impact velocity and defined a threshold velocity below which the drop is captured. However, it is necessary to consider the coupling of elastic and capillary effects to achieve a greater understanding of the capture process for soft substrates. Here, we study experimentally the dynamics of a single drop impacting on a thin flexible fiber. Our results demonstrate that the threshold capture velocity depends on the flexibility of fibers in a non-monotonic way. We conclude that tuning the mechanical properties of fibers can optimize the efficiency of droplet capture.Comment: Soft Matter (2015

Bijoux du Musée National de Beyrouth attribués à la période islamique

Il s'agit de l'analyse d'un corpus de bijoux en or daté de la période islamique et conservé dans les réserves du Musée National de Beyrouth. L'inventaire et les photographies ont été réalisés en 1999 par l'auteur en collaboration avec le musée; la synthèse est plus tardive