Soap-Film Membranes for CO/Air Separation.

Thin liquid films are a potential game changer in the quest for efficient gas separation strategies. Such fluid membranes, which are complementary to their solid counterparts involving porous materials, can achieve complex separation by combining permeability and adsorption mechanisms in their liquid core and at their surface. In addition, unlike porous solid membranes that must be regenerated between separation steps to recover a gas-free porosity, thus preventing continuous operation, liquid membranes can be regenerated using continuous liquid flow through the fluid film.

Relation between oxidation kinetics and reactant transport in an aqueous foam.

Hypothesis: Aqueous foams are expected to constitute exquisite particularly suitable reactive medium for the oxidation of metals, since the reactant H can be supplied through the continuous liquid phase, while the reactant O can be transported through the gas bubbles.

Experiments: To test this hypothesis, we investigated the oxidation of a metallic copper cylinder immersed in an aqueous foam. To study the relation between the transport of these reactants and the kinetics of the chemical reaction we use a forced drainage setup which enables us to control both the advection velocity of the H ions through the foam and the foam liquid fraction.

Impact of Fluorocarbon Gaseous Environments on the Permeability of Foam Films to Air.

A foam film, free to move and stabilized with tetradecyltrimethylammonium bromide or sodium dodecylsulfate surfactants, is deposited inside of a cylindrical tube. It separates the tube into two distinct gaseous compartments. The first compartment is filled with air, while the second one contains a mixture of air and perfluorohexane vapor (CF), which is a barely water-soluble fluorinated compound.

Transition from Exponentially Damped to Finite-Time Arrest Liquid Oscillations Induced by Contact Line Hysteresis.

To clarify the role of wetting properties on the damping of liquid oscillations, we studied the decay of oscillations of liquid columns in a U-shaped tube with controlled surface conditions. In the presence of sliding triple lines, oscillations are strongly and nonlinearly damped, with a finite-time arrest and a dependence on initial amplitude. We reveal that contact angle hysteresis explains and quantifies this solidlike friction.

Rupture of granular rafts: effects of particle mobility and polydispersity.

Reversible encapsulation of liquid materials is a technical challenge in many applications such as for the transport and controlled delivery of active ingredients. In contrast to most state-of-the-art processes, capillary adsorbed solid particles can achieve chemical-reaction-free encapsulation by forming dense rafts which isolate the liquid from its surroundings. While the production conditions of such capsules have been characterized, the control of the armor robustness remains poorly described and understood.

Low gas permeability of particulate films slows down the aging of gas marbles.

Introducing solid particles into liquid films drastically changes their properties: "gas marbles" can resist overpressure and underpressure ten times larger than their pure liquid counterparts - also known as soap bubbles - before deforming. Such gas marbles can therefore prove to be useful as gas containers able to support stresses. Yet, as their liquid counterparts, they can undergo gas transfer, which can reduce the scope of their applications.

Stable oil-laden foams: Formation and evolution.

The interaction between oil and foam has been the subject of various studies. Indeed, oil can be an efficient defoaming agent, which can be highly valuable in various industrial applications where undesired foaming may occur, as seen in jet-dyeing processes or waste water treatment plant. However, oil and foam can also constructively interact as observed in detergency, fire-fighting, food and petroleum industries, where oil can be in the foam structure or put into contact with the foam without observing a catastrophic break-up of the foam.

Surfactant- and Aqueous-Foam-Driven Oil Extraction from Micropatterned Surfaces.

Liquid-infused surfaces are rough or patterned surfaces in which a lubricating fluid, such as oil, is infused, which exhibits various original properties (omniphobicity, biofouling, drag reduction). An outer flow in a confined geometry can entrain the oil trapped between the pattern of the surfaces by shearing the oil-water interface and cause the loss of the omniphobic properties of the interface. Starting from the theoretical analysis of Wexler et al.

Yield-stress fluids foams: flow patterns and controlled production in T-junction and flow-focusing devices.

We study the formation of yield-stress fluid foams in millifluidic flow-focusing and T-junction devices. First, we provide a phase diagram for the unsteady operating regimes of bubble production when the gas pressure and the yield-stress fluid flow rate are imposed. Three regimes are identified: a co-flow of gas and yield-stress fluid, a transient production of bubble and a flow of yield-stress fluid only.

Bending modulus of bidisperse particle rafts: Local and collective contributions.

The bending modulus of air-water interfaces covered by a monolayer of bidisperse particles is probed experimentally under quasistatic conditions via the compression of the monolayer, and under dynamical conditions studying capillary-wave propagation. Simple averaging of the modulus obtained solely with small or large particles fails to describe our data. Indeed, as observed in other configurations for monodisperse systems, bidisperse rafts have both a granular and an elastic character: chain forces and collective effects must be taken into account to fully understand our results.

Capillary imbibition of aqueous foams by miscible and nonmiscible liquids.

When put in contact with a large liquid drop, dry foams wick owing to surface-tension-driven flows until reaching equilibrium. This work is devoted to the dynamics of this imbibition process. We consider imbibition of both wetting or nonwetting liquid, by putting the dry foam into contact either with the foaming solution that constitutes the foam or with organic oils.

Bubble Formation in Yield Stress Fluids Using Flow-Focusing and T-Junction Devices.

We study the production of bubbles inside yield stress fluids (YSFs) in axisymmetric T-junction and flow-focusing devices. Taking advantage of yield stress over capillary stress, we exhibit a robust break-up mechanism reminiscent of the geometrical operating regime in 2D flow-focusing devices for Newtonian fluids. We report that when the gas is pressure driven, the dynamics is unsteady due to hydrodynamic feedback and YSF deposition on the walls of the channels.

Oil repartition in a foam film architecture.

The propagation and distribution of oil inside the aqueous network of a foam is investigated in the case where oil can invade the foam without breaking it. The oil is injected into an elementary foam architecture of nine foam films and four vertices obtained by plunging a cubic frame in a foaming solution. The frame is then deformed to trigger a film switching (topological rearrangement named T1) and oil redistribution through this process is reported.

Coalescence of dry foam under water injection.

When a small volume of pure water - typically a drop - is injected within an aqueous foam, it locally triggers the rupture of foam films, thus opening an empty cavity in the foam's bulk. We consider the final shape of this cavity and we quantify its volume as a function of the volume of injected water, the diameter of the bubbles and the liquid fraction of the foam. We provide quantitative understanding to explain how and when this cavity appears.

Capillary flow of oil in a single foam microchannel.

When using appropriate surfactants, oil and aqueous foam can be intimately mixed without the foam being destroyed. In this Letter, we show that a foam, initially free of oil, can draw an oil drop under the action of capillary forces and stretch it through the aqueous network. We focus on the suction of oil by a single horizontal foam channel, known as a Plateau border.

Forced impregnation of a capillary tube with drop impact.

We experimentally investigate how the impregnation of porous media can be forced using the initial kinetic energy of an impacting drop. We focus on the scale of a single pore--either hydrophilic or hydrophobic--and thus study the impact of a single drop falling on vertical cylindrical capillary tubes. This experimental configuration therefore differs from the impregnation of a porous media because of the finite volume of the drop and its initial kinetic energy.

Drops impacting inclined fibers.

Mats of fibers are often used to capture liquid drops, such as in filters or in fog's nets. It is desired to optimize the efficiency of capture, in particular in the limit of drops larger than the fibers, for which filters remain highly permeable. Here we show that the efficiency of capture is dramatically increased by tilting the fibers: then, the velocity V* below which a drop is fully captured is made much larger; moreover, the tilt maximizes the liquid volume left on the fiber when the impact velocity exceeds V*.

Osmotic pressure and structures of monodisperse ordered foam.

We present an experimental and numerical study of the osmotic pressure in monodisperse ordered foams as a function of the liquid fraction. The data are compared to previous results obtained for disordered monodisperse and polydisperse concentrated emulsions. Moreover, we report a quantitative investigation of the transition from a bubble close packing to a bcc structure as a function of the liquid volume fraction.

Generation of polymerosomes from double-emulsions.

Diblock copolymers are known to spontaneously organize into polymer vesicles. Typically, this is achieved through the techniques of film rehydration or electroformation. We present a new method for generating polymer vesicles from double emulsions.

Air entrainment by a viscous jet plunging into a bath.

A liquid jet plunging into a container of liquid often entrains a thin film of air with it, producing bubbles. This bubble production is detrimental to many industrial processes, such as filling a container with a molten glass or polymer, or in coating processes. Conversely, in making a foam, one uses this effect; hence it is important to control the rate of bubble production.

Capturing drops with a thin fiber.

We study experimentally the dynamics of drops impacting horizontal fibers and characterize the ability of these objects to capture the drops. We first show that a drop larger than a critical radius cannot be trapped by a fiber whatever its velocity. We determine this critical size as a function of the fiber radius.

Drops impacting a sieve.

We study experimentally the impact of liquid drops against thin plates pierced with small holes. When the drop is larger than the hole, different situations can occur: (i) at a small velocity, the drop is entirely captured by the plate; (ii) above a threshold speed, some liquid is ejected below the surface. We characterize this critical speed and these two different situations, focusing on the forces able to slow down the drop.

Fracture of a viscous liquid.

When a viscous liquid hits a pool of liquid of the same nature, the impact region is hollowed by the shock. Its bottom becomes extremely sharp if increasing the impact velocity, and we report that the curvature at that place increases exponentially with the flow velocity, in agreement with a theory by Jeong and Moffatt. Such a law defines a characteristic velocity for the collapse of the tip, which explains both the cusplike shape of this region, and the instability of the cusp if increasing (slightly) the impact velocity.