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Frictional Fluid Dynamics and Plug Formation in Multiphase Millifluidic Flow

Guillaume Dumazer, Bjørnar Sandnes, Monem Ayaz, Knut Jørgen Måløy, and Eirik Grude Flekkøy
Phys. Rev. Lett. 117, 028002 – Published 7 July 2016
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Abstract

We study experimentally the flow and patterning of a granular suspension displaced by air inside a narrow tube. The invading air-liquid interface accumulates a plug of granular material that clogs the tube due to friction with the confining walls. The gas percolates through the static plug once the gas pressure exceeds the pore capillary entry pressure of the packed grains, and a moving accumulation front is reestablished at the far side of the plug. The process repeats, such that the advancing interface leaves a trail of plugs in its wake. Further, we show that the system undergoes a fluidization transition—and complete evacuation of the granular suspension—when the liquid withdrawal rate increases beyond a critical value. An analytical model of the stability condition for the granular accumulation predicts the flow regime.

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  • Received 10 March 2016

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevLett.117.028002

© 2016 American Physical Society

Physics Subject Headings (PhySH)

Nonlinear DynamicsFluid DynamicsInterdisciplinary PhysicsCondensed Matter, Materials & Applied Physics

Synopsis

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Forming Granular Plugs

Published 7 July 2016

Experiments on grain-water-air mixtures flowing through a tube find that frictional forces between the grains and the tube lead to the creation of a series of plugs.

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Authors & Affiliations

Guillaume Dumazer1, Bjørnar Sandnes2,*, Monem Ayaz1, Knut Jørgen Måløy1, and Eirik Grude Flekkøy1

  • 1Department of Physics, University of Oslo, P.O. Box 1048 Blindern Oslo, Norway
  • 2College of Engineering, Swansea University, Bay Campus, Swansea SA1 8EN, United Kingdom

  • *Corresponding author. b.sandnes@swansea.ac.uk

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Issue

Vol. 117, Iss. 2 — 8 July 2016

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