213 research outputs found
Study of fluid behaviour under gravity compensated by a magnetic field
International audienceFluids, and especially cryogenic fluids like Hydrogen H2 and Oxygen O2 , are widely used in space technology for propulsion and cooling. The knowledge of fluid behaviour during the acceleration variation and under reduced gravity is necessary for an efficient management of fluids in space. Such a management also asks fundamental questions about thermo-hydrodynamics and phase change once buoyancy forces are cancelled. For security reasons, it is nearly impossible to use the classical microgravity means to experiment with such cryofluids. However, it is possible to counterbalance gravity by using the paramagnetic (O2) or diamagnetic (H2) properties of fluids. By applying a magnetic field gradient on these materials, a volume force is created that is able to impose to the fluid a varying effective gravity, including microgravity. We have set up a magnetic levitation facility for H2 in which many experiments have been performed. A new facility for O2 is under construction that will enable fast change in the effective gravity by quenching down the magnetic field. The facilities and some particularly representative experimental results are presented
Water recovery from dew
International audienceThe recovery of clean water from dew has remained a longstanding challenge in many places all around the world. It is currently believed that the ancient Greeks succeeded in recovering atmospheric water vapour on a scale large enough to supply water to the city of Theodosia (presently Feodosia, Crimea, Ukraine). Several attempts were made in the early 20th Cent. to build artificial dew-catching constructions which were subsequently abandoned because of their low yield. The idea of dew collection is revised in the light of recent investigations of the basic physical phenomena involved in the formation of dew. A model for calculating condensation rates on real dew condensers is proposed. Some suggestions for the " ideal " condenser are formulated
Effects of Turbulent Mixing on the Critical Behavior
Effects of strongly anisotropic turbulent mixing on the critical behavior are
studied by means of the renormalization group. Two models are considered: the
equilibrium model A, which describes purely relaxational dynamics of a
nonconserved scalar order parameter, and the Gribov model, which describes the
nonequilibrium phase transition between the absorbing and fluctuating states in
a reaction-diffusion system. The velocity is modelled by the d-dimensional
generalization of the random shear flow introduced by Avellaneda and Majda
within the context of passive scalar advection. Existence of new nonequilibrium
types of critical regimes (universality classes) is established.Comment: Talk given in the International Bogolyubov Conference "Problems of
Theoretical and Mathematical Physics" (Moscow-Dubna, 21-27 August 2009
Droplet pattern and condensation gradient around a humidity sink
We describe the evolution of a water drop saturated with NaCl and the growth of pure water droplets in a breath figure pattern (BF) condensing around it. This salty drop acts as a humidity sink, inhibiting the BF inside a ring at a distance r=δ from the sink center and slowing down BF growth outside the ring. The initial salty drop is taken either from a salt-saturated solution (type I experiment) or by placing an NaCl crystal on the substrate (type II experiment). The results are similar, provided that the initial time for type II evolution is taken at the end of the crystal dissolution. The evolution of the salty drop radius R is deduced from the establishment of a three-dimensional hyperbolic concentration profile around the salty drop. This profile scales with r/δ. Accounting for the salt concentration decrease with salty drop growth, R is seen to grow as t5. In the region r>δ, water droplets nucleate and grow. The rate of evolution of the water droplets at constant r/δ can be used to determine the local water pressure. The corresponding data reasonably agree with a hyperbolic water vapor profile around the salty drop. These results can be applied to the growth of BF patterns to determine whether hyperbolic or linear water vapor profiles apply
Phase separation transition in liquids and polymers induced by electric field gradients
Spatially uniform electric fields have been used to induce instabilities in
liquids and polymers, and to orient and deform ordered phases of
block-copolymers. Here we discuss the demixing phase transition occurring in
liquid mixtures when they are subject to spatially nonuniform fields. Above the
critical value of potential, a phase-separation transition occurs, and two
coexisting phases appear separated by a sharp interface. Analytical and
numerical composition profiles are given, and the interface location as a
function of charge or voltage is found. The possible influence of demixing on
the stability of suspensions and on inter-colloid interaction is discussed.Comment: 7 pages, 3 figures. Special issue of the J. Phys. Soc. Ja
Casimir Forces between Spherical Particles in a Critical Fluid and Conformal Invariance
Mesoscopic particles immersed in a critical fluid experience long-range
Casimir forces due to critical fluctuations. Using field theoretical methods,
we investigate the Casimir interaction between two spherical particles and
between a single particle and a planar boundary of the fluid. We exploit the
conformal symmetry at the critical point to map both cases onto a highly
symmetric geometry where the fluid is bounded by two concentric spheres with
radii R_- and R_+. In this geometry the singular part of the free energy F only
depends upon the ratio R_-/R_+, and the stress tensor, which we use to
calculate F, has a particularly simple form. Different boundary conditions
(surface universality classes) are considered, which either break or preserve
the order-parameter symmetry. We also consider profiles of thermodynamic
densities in the presence of two spheres. Explicit results are presented for an
ordinary critical point to leading order in epsilon=4-d and, in the case of
preserved symmetry, for the Gaussian model in arbitrary spatial dimension d.
Fundamental short-distance properties, such as profile behavior near a surface
or the behavior if a sphere has a `small' radius, are discussed and verified.
The relevance for colloidal solutions is pointed out.Comment: 37 pages, 2 postscript figures, REVTEX 3.0, published in Phys. Rev. B
51, 13717 (1995
Phase separation in an homogeneous shear flow: Morphology, growth laws and dynamic scaling
We investigate numerically the influence of an homogeneous shear flow on the
spinodal decomposition of a binary mixture by solving the Cahn-Hilliard
equation in a two-dimensional geometry. Several aspects of this much studied
problem are clarified. Our numerical data show unambiguously that, in the shear
flow, the domains have on average an elliptic shape. The time evolution of the
three parameters describing this ellipse are obtained for a wide range of shear
rates. For the lowest shear rates investigated, we find the growth laws for the
two principal axis , , while
the mean orientation of the domains with respect to the flow is inversely
proportional to the strain. This implies that when hydrodynamics is neglected a
shear flow does not stop the domain growth process. We investigate also the
possibility of dynamic scaling, and show that only a non trivial form of
scaling holds, as predicted by a recent analytical approach to the case of a
non-conserved order parameter. We show that a simple physical argument may
account for these results.Comment: Version accepted for publication - Physical Review
Critical Casimir effect in classical binary liquid mixtures
If a fluctuating medium is confined, the ensuing perturbation of its
fluctuation spectrum generates Casimir-like effective forces acting on its
confining surfaces. Near a continuous phase transition of such a medium the
corresponding order parameter fluctuations occur on all length scales and
therefore close to the critical point this effect acquires a universal
character, i.e., to a large extent it is independent of the microscopic details
of the actual system. Accordingly it can be calculated theoretically by
studying suitable representative model systems.
We report on the direct measurement of critical Casimir forces by total
internal reflection microscopy (TIRM), with femto-Newton resolution. The
corresponding potentials are determined for individual colloidal particles
floating above a substrate under the action of the critical thermal noise in
the solvent medium, constituted by a binary liquid mixture of water and
2,6-lutidine near its lower consolute point. Depending on the relative
adsorption preferences of the colloid and substrate surfaces with respect to
the two components of the binary liquid mixture, we observe that, upon
approaching the critical point of the solvent, attractive or repulsive forces
emerge and supersede those prevailing away from it. Based on the knowledge of
the critical Casimir forces acting in film geometries within the Ising
universality class and with equal or opposing boundary conditions, we provide
the corresponding theoretical predictions for the sphere-planar wall geometry
of the experiment. The experimental data for the effective potential can be
interpreted consistently in terms of these predictions and a remarkable
quantitative agreement is observed.Comment: 30 pages, 17 figure
On War: The Dynamics of Vicious Civilizations
The dynamics of ``vicious'', continuously growing civilizations (domains),
which engage in ``war'' whenever two domains meet, is investigated. In the war
event, the smaller domain is annihilated, while the larger domain is reduced in
size by a fraction \e of the casualties of the loser. Here \e quantifies
the fairness of the war, with \e=1 corresponding to a fair war with equal
casualties on both side, and \e=0 corresponding to a completely unfair war
where the winner suffers no casualties. In the heterogeneous version of the
model, evolution begins from a specified initial distribution of domains, while
in the homogeneous system, there is a continuous and spatially uniform input of
point domains, in addition to the growth and warfare. For the heterogeneous
case, the rate equations are derived and solved, and comparisons with numerical
simulations are made. An exact solution is also derived for the case of equal
size domains in one dimension. The heterogeneous system is found to coarsen,
with the typical cluster size growing linearly in time and the number
density of domains decreases as . For the homogeneous system, two
different long-time behaviors arise as a function of \e. When 1/2<\e\leq 1
(relatively fair wars), a steady state arises which is characterized by
egalitarian competition between domains of comparable size. In the limiting
case of \e=1, rate equations which simultaneously account for the
distribution of domains and that of the intervening gaps are derived and
solved. The steady state is characterized by domains whose age is typically
much larger than their size. When 0\leq\e<1/2 (unfair wars), a few
``superpowers'' ultimately dominate. Simulations indicate that this coarsening
process is characterized by power-law temporal behavior, with non-universalComment: 43 pages, plain TeX, 12 figures included, gzipped and uuencode
Relationship between dielectric properties and critical behavior of the electric birefringence in binary liquid mixtures
We present experimental results on the critical exponent ψEKE describing the divergence of the Kerr constant of binary liquid mixtures near the critical consolute point. We show that the measured value of ψEKE agrees with the theoretical prediction only if the measurement is performed with a mixture of two liquids presenting a small mismatch in the dielectric constant, and that the measured ψEKE grows as the dielectric constant mismatch increases. Such findings are consistent with a recent model which assumes that the elongation of critical fluctations along the direction of the electric field can become so strong that fluctuations in the direction perpendicular to the electric field may cross over from Ising to mean-field behavior
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