Modeling and correction of image drift in dynamic shadowgraphy experiments.

The study of phoretic transport phenomena under non-stationary conditions presents several challenges, mostly related to the stability of the experimental apparatus. This is particularly true when investigating with optical means the subtle temperature and concentration fluctuations that arise during diffusion processes, superimposed to the macroscopic state of the system. Under these conditions, the tenuous signal from fluctuations is easily altered by the presence of artifacts.

Dynamics of non-equilibrium concentration fluctuations during free-diffusion in highly stratified solutions of glycerol and water.

We investigate the non-equilibrium fluctuations occurring during free diffusion between two solutions of glycerol and water with various concentration differences. The non-linearity of the system, determined by the strong stratification of the sample, requires introducing an interpretation model able to characterize the dependence of the correlation properties of the non-equilibrium fluctuations on the local thermophysical variables of the system. The proposed model allows us to characterize the dynamics of non-equilibrium fluctuations in the presence of a wide range of relaxation times determined by the strong stratification of the sample, at variance with the cumulant methods commonly used in dynamic light scattering experiments, which work well in the presence of a moderate dispersion of relaxation times.

Diffusion in liquid mixtures.

The understanding of transport and mixing in fluids in the presence and in the absence of external fields and reactions represents a challenging topic of strategic relevance for space exploration. Indeed, mixing and transport of components in a fluid are especially important during long-term space missions where fuels, food and other materials, needed for the sustainability of long space travels, must be processed under microgravity conditions. So far, the processes of transport and mixing have been investigated mainly at the macroscopic and microscopic scale.

Stabilized convection in a ternary mixture with two Soret coefficients of opposite sign.

We performed ground-based experiments on the sample polystyrene-toluene-cyclohexane in order to complement the experimental activities in microgravity conditions related to the ESA projects DCMIX4 and Giant Fluctuations. After applying a stabilizing thermal gradient by heating from above a layer of the fluid mixture, we studied over many hours the density variations in the bidimensional horizontal field by means of a Shadowgraph optical setup. The resulting images evidence the appearance of convective instability after a diffusive time associated with the binary molecular solvent consisting of toluene and cyclohexane, confirming the negative sign of the Soret coefficient of this mixture.

Mass diffusion and Soret coefficient measurements of triethylene glycol/water binary mixtures by dynamic shadowgraphy.

The investigation of the transport properties of binary fluid mixtures remains a topic of interest in relation to the more challenging studies of ternary mixtures. In fact, the study of the phase boundary limits of the Gibbs composition triangle can be the initial step for a more complete analysis of ternary mixtures. In this paper, we apply the dynamic shadowgraphy optical technique to study non-equilibrium fluctuations induced by the presence of a gradient of temperature and/or concentration in the triethylene glycol (TEG)/water system.