arXiv subjects

Alexandros T. Oratis

Publications and source records attributed to Alexandros T. Oratis.

6 recordsLinked to original sources

arXiv2026

How elasticity affects bubble pinch-off

The pinch-off of bubbles in viscoelastic liquids is a fundamental process that has received little attention compared to viscoelastic drop pinch-off. While these processes exhibit qualitative similarities, the dynamics of the pinch-off process are significantly different. When a drop of a dilute polymer solution pinches off, a thread is known to develop that prevents breakup due the diverging polymer stresses. Conversely, our experiments reveal that this thread is absent for bubble pinch-off in dilute polymer solutions. We show that a thread becomes apparent only for high polymer concentrations, where the pinch-off dynamics become very sensitive to the size of the needle from which the bubble detaches. The experiments are complemented by numerical simulations and analytical modeling using the Oldroyd-B model, which capture the dilute regime. The model shows that polymer stresses are still singular during bubble pinch-off, but the divergence is much weaker as compared to drop pinch-off. This explains why, in contrast to droplets, viscoelastic bubble-threads do not appear for dilute suspensions but require large polymer concentrations

cond-mat.soft↗

arXiv2026

Diffusion from particle-coated drops: the subtle role of particle size

Many natural and industrial systems involve particle-laden interfaces. Because interfacial particles prevent the coalescence and coarsening of drops, they hold promise for various applications requiring stable emulsions. Despite their remarkable ability to stabilize emulsions, it remains challenging to characterize how particles influence the interfacial transport of dissolved solutes. Here, we quantify the diffusion from a single particle-coated drop by confining it to a two-dimensional configuration. Using fluorescence microscopy, we extract the intensity profiles of the fluorescent dye as it diffuses from the drop, yielding spatio-temporal measurements of the concentration field. Over a range of particle sizes, the particles impose minimal resistance to diffusion. We rationalize this counterintuitive result with a mathematical model that couples interfacial mass transfer to a particle-coated interface. We show that the particle monolayer controls the temporal dynamics of the flux across the interface, hindering transport only at extreme coverage fractions beyond the close-packing limit. This framework reveals why particles often fail to hinder diffusion, offering new pathways to harness mass transfer in particle-stabilized emulsions.

cond-mat.soft↗

arXiv2024

Viscoelastic lubrication of a submerged cylinder sliding down an incline

Lubrication flows between two solid surfaces can be found in a variety of biological and engineering settings. In many of these systems, the lubricant exhibits viscoelastic properties, which modify the associated lubrication forces. Here, we experimentally study viscoelastic lubrication by considering the motion of a submerged cylinder sliding down an incline. We demonstrate that cylinders move faster when released in a viscoelastic Boger liquid compared to a Newtonian liquid with similar viscosity. Cylinders exhibit pure sliding motion in viscoelastic liquids, in contrast to the stick-slip motion observed in Newtonian liquids. We rationalize our results by using the second-order fluid model, which predicts a lift force on the cylinder arising from the normal-stress differences provided by the dissolved polymers. The interplay between viscoelastic lift, viscous friction, and gravity leads to a prediction for the sliding speed, which is consistent with our experimental results for weakly viscoelastic flows. Finally, we identify a remarkable difference between the lubrication of cylindrical and spherical contacts, as the latter does not exhibit any lift for weak viscoelasticity.

cond-mat.soft↗

arXiv2024

Sticking without contact: Elastohydrodynamic adhesion

The adhesion between dry solid surfaces is typically governed by contact forces, involving surface forces and elasticity. For surfaces immersed in a fluid, out-of-contact adhesion arises due to the viscous resistance to the opening of the liquid gap. While the adhesion between dry solids is described by the classical JKR theory, there is no equivalent framework for the wet adhesion of soft solids. Here, we investigate theoretically the viscous adhesion emerging during the separation of a sphere from an elastic substrate. The suction pressure within the thin viscous film between the solids induces significant elastic displacements. Unexpectedly, the elastic substrate closely follows the motion of the sphere, leading to a sticking without contact. The initial dynamics is described using similarity solutions, resulting in a nonlinear adhesion force that grows in time as F ~ t^(2/3). When elastic displacements become large enough, another similarity solution emerges that leads to a violent snap-off of the adhesive contact through a finite-time singularity. The observed phenomenology bears a strong resemblance with JKR theory, and is relevant for a wide range of applications involving viscous adhesion.

cond-mat.soft↗

arXiv2023

A unifying Rayleigh-Plesset-type equation for bubbles in viscoelastic media

Understanding the ultrasound pressure-driven dynamics of microbubbles confined in viscoelastic materials is relevant for multiple biomedical applications, ranging from contrast-enhanced ultrasound imaging to ultrasound-assisted drug delivery. The volumetric oscillations of spherical bubbles is analyzed using the Rayleigh-Plesset equation, which describes the conservation of mass and momentum in the surrounding medium. Several studies have considered an extension of the Rayleigh-Plesset equation for bubbles embedded into viscoelastic media, but these are restricted to a particular choice of constitutive model and/or to small deformations. Here, we derive a unifying equation applicable to bubbles in viscoelastic media with arbitrary complex moduli and that can account for large bubble deformations. To derive this equation, we borrow concepts from finite-strain theory. We validate our approach by comparing the result of our model to previously published results and extend it to show how microbubbles behave in arbitrary viscoelastic materials. In particular, we use our viscoelastic Rayleigh-Plesset model to compute the bubble dynamics in benchmarked viscoelastic liquids and solids.

physics.flu-dyn↗

arXiv2023

Coalescence of bubbles in a viscoelastic liquid

When two bubbles submerged in a liquid are brought closely together, the intermediate liquid film separating the bubbles begins to drain. Once the film ruptures, the bubbles coalesce and form a neck that expands with time. The dynamics of the neck growth are well understood in the context of pure, Newtonian liquids. Yet, much less is known about the dynamics of this singularity when the surrounding liquid contains long flexible polymers, which provide viscoelastic characteristics to the liquid's properties. Here, we experimentally study the coalescence of bubbles surrounded by polymer solutions. In contrast to drop coalescence, and in spite of the singular stretching of polymers, we find that the presence of the dissolved polymers does not at all affect the coalescence dynamics at early times. The polymer elasticity is found to slow down the flow only during the later stages of coalescence. These observations are interpreted using an asymptotic solution of the Oldroyd-B model, which predicts a strong stress singularity near the extremity of the neck. However, the polymer stress turns out to diverge only in the azimuthal direction, which can explain why elastic effects remain subdominant during the initial stages of coalescence.

physics.flu-dyn↗