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arXiv · 1605.09542

Topological symmetry breaking in viscous coarsening

David Bouttes·Emmanuelle Gouillart·Damien Vandembroucq
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Abstract

The crucial role of hydrodynamic pinch-off instabilities is evidenced in the coarsening stage of viscous liquids. The phase separation of a barium borosilicate glass melt is studied by in-situ synchrotron X-Ray tomography at high temperature. The high viscosity contrast between the less viscous phase and the more viscous phase induces a topological symmetry breaking: capillary breakups occur preferentially in the less viscous phase. As a result, contrasting morphologies are obtained in the two phases. This symmetry breaking is illustrated on three different glass compositions , corresponding to different volume fractions of the two phases. In particular, a fragmentation phenomenon, reminiscent of the end-pinching mechanism proposed by Stone et al. [1, 2] is evidenced in the less viscous phase.

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David Bouttes, Emmanuelle Gouillart, Damien Vandembroucq. 2016-05-31. Topological symmetry breaking in viscous coarsening. https://doi.org/10.1103/physrevlett.117.145702

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