Fluctuations and pinch-offs observed in viscous fingering

Michael Moore; Anne Juel; John M. Burgess; Harry L. Swinney

doi:10.1063/1.1612212

Fluctuations and pinch-offs observed in viscous fingering

Michael Moore, Anne Juel, John M. Burgess, Harry L. Swinney

Research output: Chapter in Book/Conference proceeding › Conference contribution › peer-review

Abstract

Our experiments on viscous (Saffman‐Taylor) fingering in Hele‐Shaw channels reveal several phenomena that were not observed in previous experiments. At low flow rates, growing fingers undergo width fluctuations that intermittently narrow the finger as they evolve. The magnitude of these fluctuations is proportional to Ca−0.64, where Ca is the capillary number, which is proportional to the finger velocity. This relation holds for all aspect ratios studied up to the onset of tip instabilities. At higher flow rates, finger pinch‐off and reconnection events are observed. These events appear to be caused by an interaction between the actively growing finger and suppressed fingers at the back of the channel. Both the fluctuation and pinch‐off phenomena are robust but not explained by current theory.

Original language	English
Title of host publication	Proceedings of the Seventh Experimental Chaos Conference
Publisher	Springer Nature
Pages	189-194
Number of pages	6
Volume	676
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1063/1.1612212
Publication status	Published - 2003
Event	7th Experimental Chaos Conference - San Diego Duration: 26 Aug 2002 → 29 Aug 2002

Conference

Conference	7th Experimental Chaos Conference
City	San Diego
Period	26/08/02 → 29/08/02

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10.1063/1.1612212

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@inproceedings{54a9ff40b2aa48788ab6557d6d5630ca,

title = "Fluctuations and pinch-offs observed in viscous fingering",

abstract = "Our experiments on viscous (Saffman‐Taylor) fingering in Hele‐Shaw channels reveal several phenomena that were not observed in previous experiments. At low flow rates, growing fingers undergo width fluctuations that intermittently narrow the finger as they evolve. The magnitude of these fluctuations is proportional to Ca−0.64, where Ca is the capillary number, which is proportional to the finger velocity. This relation holds for all aspect ratios studied up to the onset of tip instabilities. At higher flow rates, finger pinch‐off and reconnection events are observed. These events appear to be caused by an interaction between the actively growing finger and suppressed fingers at the back of the channel. Both the fluctuation and pinch‐off phenomena are robust but not explained by current theory.",

author = "Michael Moore and Anne Juel and Burgess, {John M.} and Swinney, {Harry L.}",

year = "2003",

doi = "10.1063/1.1612212",

language = "English",

volume = "676",

pages = "189--194",

booktitle = "Proceedings of the Seventh Experimental Chaos Conference",

publisher = "Springer Nature",

address = "United States",

note = "7th Experimental Chaos Conference ; Conference date: 26-08-2002 Through 29-08-2002",

}

TY - GEN

T1 - Fluctuations and pinch-offs observed in viscous fingering

AU - Moore, Michael

AU - Juel, Anne

AU - Burgess, John M.

AU - Swinney, Harry L.

PY - 2003

Y1 - 2003

N2 - Our experiments on viscous (Saffman‐Taylor) fingering in Hele‐Shaw channels reveal several phenomena that were not observed in previous experiments. At low flow rates, growing fingers undergo width fluctuations that intermittently narrow the finger as they evolve. The magnitude of these fluctuations is proportional to Ca−0.64, where Ca is the capillary number, which is proportional to the finger velocity. This relation holds for all aspect ratios studied up to the onset of tip instabilities. At higher flow rates, finger pinch‐off and reconnection events are observed. These events appear to be caused by an interaction between the actively growing finger and suppressed fingers at the back of the channel. Both the fluctuation and pinch‐off phenomena are robust but not explained by current theory.

AB - Our experiments on viscous (Saffman‐Taylor) fingering in Hele‐Shaw channels reveal several phenomena that were not observed in previous experiments. At low flow rates, growing fingers undergo width fluctuations that intermittently narrow the finger as they evolve. The magnitude of these fluctuations is proportional to Ca−0.64, where Ca is the capillary number, which is proportional to the finger velocity. This relation holds for all aspect ratios studied up to the onset of tip instabilities. At higher flow rates, finger pinch‐off and reconnection events are observed. These events appear to be caused by an interaction between the actively growing finger and suppressed fingers at the back of the channel. Both the fluctuation and pinch‐off phenomena are robust but not explained by current theory.

U2 - 10.1063/1.1612212

DO - 10.1063/1.1612212

M3 - Conference contribution

VL - 676

SP - 189

EP - 194

BT - Proceedings of the Seventh Experimental Chaos Conference

PB - Springer Nature

T2 - 7th Experimental Chaos Conference

Y2 - 26 August 2002 through 29 August 2002

ER -

Fluctuations and pinch-offs observed in viscous fingering

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