arXiv subjects

Yuto Yokoyama

Publications and source records attributed to Yuto Yokoyama.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources

arXiv2026

Apparent Breakdown of the Stress-Optic Rule in Rigid-Rod Suspensions: A Stress-Partitioning Interpretation

A fundamental problem in the field of anisotropic macromolecular materials concerns how the flow-induced orientational order connects microscopic structure to macroscopic rheological stress and optical anisotropy. This study considered cellulose nanocrystal suspensions as rigid-rod model systems for the purpose of isolating orientational effects from chain stretching. Simultaneous rheo-optical measurements of birefringence, orientation angle, and shear stress were combined with a Fokker-Planck orientation model and stress decomposition. Our results show that, at low values of the Peclet number, birefringence and total stress exhibit proportionality similar to the stress-optic rule. However, the concentration dependence indicates that this proportionality reflects stress partitioning rather than a unique material coefficient. With increasing flow strength, orientational saturation is accompanied by a reduced relative Brownian stress contribution and a corresponding change in the total stress-based relation. Referencing the optical response to an estimated Brownian stress contribution yields a substantially more unified response across concentrations and flow conditions, supporting a stress-partitioning interpretation of apparent stress-optic rule breakdown.

cond-mat.soft↗

arXiv2026

Time-Resolved Stress Analysis of Tissue Simulants During Needle-Free Jet Injection

Needle-free jet injection generates transient internal stress fields that can influence tissue deformation, pain-related stimulation, and cellular-level mechanical responses. However, the penetration mechanics have often been inferred from cavity deformation and interpreted mainly as shear-dominated behavior. In this study, high-speed photoelastic measurements were used to visualize and quantify optically integrated stress responses in a 5 wt% gelatin tissue simulant during penetration by two needle-free injectors with different actuation mechanisms: the Actranza Lab, a pyro-drive injector driven by cartridge-based combustion, and the Biojector 2000, a commercially available CO$_2$-driven injector. A polarization camera operated at 60,000 fps was used to obtain the phase difference and principal stress orientation, allowing evaluation of the photoelastic stress-intensity response and its decomposed normal- and shear-stress-related components. Under the same injection volume of 20 $μ$L, the Actranza Lab formed a narrow, depth-oriented cavity, whereas the Biojector 2000 produced a wider, bulged cavity. In both cases, a clear normal-stress-difference component developed around the cavity. This component became comparable to or greater than the shear-stress component for the Actranza Lab and became dominant during the later cavity-bulging stage for the Biojector 2000. These results show that needle-free jet penetration cannot be described solely by shear stress; instead, injector-dependent cavity dynamics generate multi-component tissue loading. The findings provide an engineering basis for evaluating needle-free injector performance and for designing systems that improve delivery while reducing mechanical burden on tissue.

physics.med-ph↗

arXiv2026

Flow birefringence measurement in a radial Hele-Shaw cell considering three-dimensional effects

Flow birefringence measurement is an emerging technique for visualizing stress fields in fluid flows. This study investigates flow birefringence in the steady radial Hele-Shaw flow. In the radial Hele-Shaw flow, stress is dominant along the gap direction, challenging the applicability of the conventional stress-optic law (SOL) with measurement from the gap direction. To overcome this problem, we used two types of flow birefringence measurement using radial Hele-Shaw cell and rheometer. We conduct flow birefringence measurements at various flow rates and compare the results with theoretical predictions. The observed phase retardation cannot be quantitatively explained using the conventional SOL, but is successfully described using the second-order SOL, which accounts for stress along the optical direction. The stress-optic coefficient in the second-order SOL was obtained by rheo-optical measurements. This study demonstrates that the combination of the second-order SOL and rheo-optical measurements is essential for an accurate interpretation of flow birefringence in Hele-Shaw flow, providing a noninvasive approach for stress field analysis in high-aspect-ratio geometries.

physics.flu-dyn↗

arXiv2026

Flow-history-dependent orientational relaxation in dilute polydisperse colloidal rod suspensions

Orientation and relaxation dynamics of rod-like colloids under flow govern the optical and mechanical properties of many emerging soft materials. In polydisperse suspensions, particles of different lengths exhibit distinct rotational diffusion timescales, yet how this polydispersity influences relaxation following flow cessation remains unclear. In particular, it is not well understood how the pre-shear rate determines the subsequent orientation relaxation dynamics. To address this question, we performed simple shear on dilute cellulose nanocrystal (CNC) suspensions in a narrow-gap Taylor-Couette cell and measured birefringence relaxation after flow cessation using high-speed polarization imaging. To interpret the experiments, we formulated a polydisperse Fokker-Planck model parameterized by the measured length distribution. As a result, the average orientation relaxation time systematically decreases with increasing pre-shear rate. Moreover, when organized by the Péclet number based on the rotational diffusion coefficient of the weighted average rod length, the data agree well with the theory over a wide range of shear rates. This trend arises because the rod sub-population contributing most strongly to the orientation shifts from longer rods to shorter rods as the pre-shear rate increases, showing that the flow history governs the orientation relaxation dynamics. In polydisperse systems, the orientation relaxation time is no longer a material-specific constant but is determined by both the flow conditions and the polydispersity. This study provides a quantitative framework for understanding orientation dynamics in polydisperse rod suspensions and for interpreting rheo-optical measurements.

cond-mat.soft↗

arXiv2026

Penetration of impact-induced jets into skin-simulating materials

This study compares the penetration characteristics of impact-induced jets with those of laser-induced jets, focusing on the underlying penetration mechanism rather than device performance for needle-free injection. Using an impact-induced jet system capable of ejecting a highly focused liquid jet at high speed without the use of lasers, we examine jet penetration into skin-simulating materials. Unlike conventional needle-free injectors that produce diffused liquid jets, the impact-induced method generates a highly focused jet that limits the injected area, thereby reducing invasiveness. Comparative experiments with laser-induced jets show that, even at similar jet tip velocities, impact-induced jets achieve greater penetration depth. The penetration depth remains constant regardless of the offset distance D from the target, owing to the high and nearly uniform velocity of the cylindrical jet root region, indicating that penetration is governed by the cylindrical jet structure. Furthermore, we systematically vary the liquid viscosity, jet inertia, and elastic modulus of the skin-simulating material. To account for cylindrical liquid jet penetration, a shear deformation model is proposed, in which the jet kinetic energy is dissipated through deformation of the gelatin. The model shows good agreement with experimental results and provides a unified physical basis for liquid jet penetration.

physics.flu-dyn↗

arXiv2026

Interfacial dynamics induced by impacts across rigid and soft substrates

We investigate impact-induced gas-liquid interfacial dynamics through experiments in which a liquid-filled container impacts substrates with elastic moduli from $O(10^{-1})$ MPa to $O(10^{5})$ MPa. Upon impact, the concave gas-liquid interface inside the container deforms and emits a focused jet. When the jet velocity is normalized by the container impact velocity, all data collapse onto a single curve when plotted against the Cauchy number, $Ca = ρ_{\rm e} V_{\rm i}^2 / E$, which represents the ratio of the inertial force of the container-liquid system to the elastic restoring force of the substrate. The dimensionless jet velocity remains nearly constant for $Ca< 10^{-4}$, but decreases significantly for $Ca > 10^{-4}$. Based on this observation, we define the boundary between the rigid-impact and soft-impact regimes using the Cauchy number, providing a quantitative criterion for what constitutes ``softness'' in impact-driven interfacial flows. To explain the reduction in jet velocity observed in the soft-impact regime, we introduce a framework in which only the impulse transferred within the effective time window for jet formation contributes to interface acceleration. This concept, referred to as the partial impulse, captures the situation where the impact interval (the duration of contact between the container and the substrate) exceeds the focusing interval (the time required for jet formation). By modelling the contact force using an elastic foundation model and solving the resulting momentum equation over the finite impulse window, we quantitatively reproduce the experimental results. This partial impulse framework unifies the dynamics of impact-driven jetting across both rigid and soft substrate regimes, extending the applicability of classical impulse-based models.

cond-mat.soft↗

arXiv2025

Extending flow birefringence analysis to combined extensional-shear flows via Jeffery-Hamel flow measurements

This study investigates the relationship between phase retardation and strain rates in combined extensional-shear flows using the Jeffery-Hamel flow formalism, which yields an analytical velocity solution. Flow birefringence was measured in a 1.0 wt$\%$ cellulose nanocrystal (CNC) suspension using a high-speed polarization camera. The velocity field was validated via particle image velocimetry (PIV), which showed good agreement with the analytical solution. In regions dominated by either shear or extensional components, the birefringence behavior was consistent with prior theoretical and experimental findings. In the combined extensional-shear regions of the Jeffery-Hamel flow, the birefringence magnitude followed the root-sum-square (RSS) of the shear- and extension-induced contributions. This observation aligns with the principal stress formulation derived from Mohr's circle, in which the principal stress is expressed as the RSS of extensional and shear stresses. This finding provides a basis for extending stress-birefringence analysis to flows with coexisting deformation modes.

physics.flu-dyn↗

arXiv2025

Reconstruction of three-dimensional fluid stress field via photoelasticity using physics-informed convolutional encoder-decoder

Measuring stress fields in fluids and soft materials is crucial in various fields such as mechanical engineering, medicine, and bioengineering. However, conventional methods that calculate stress fields from velocity fields struggle to measure complex fluids where the stress constitutive equation is unknown. To address this, we propose a novel approach that combines photoelastic measurements -- which can non-invasively visualize internal stresses -- with machine learning to measure stress fields. The machine learning model, which we named physics-informed convolutional encoder-decoder (PICED), integrates a convolutional neural network (CNN)-based encoder-decoder model with a physics-informed neural network (PINN). Using this approach, three-dimensional stress fields can be predicted with high accuracy for multiple interpolated data points in a rectangular channel flow.

physics.flu-dyn↗

arXiv2025

Droplet impact on elastic substrates: force scaling crossover

Droplet impacts are fundamental to fluid-structure interactions, shaping processes from erosion to bioprinting. While previous scaling laws have provided insights into droplet dynamics, force scaling laws remain insufficiently understood, particularly for soft substrates where both the droplet and substrate deform significantly. Here, we show that droplet impacts on elastic substrates exhibit a scaling crossover in maximum impact force, transitioning from inertial force scaling, typical for rigid substrates under high inertia, to Hertzian impact scaling, characteristic of rigid spheres on elastic substrates. Using high-speed photoelastic tomography, we captured high-resolution dynamic stress fields and identified a similarity parameter governing the interplay between droplet inertia, substrate elasticity, and deformation time scales. Our findings redefine how substrate properties influence impact forces, demonstrating that droplets under high inertia -- long thought to follow inertial force scaling -- can instead follow Hertzian impact scaling on soft substrates. This framework provides practical insights for designing soft, impact-resistant materials.

cond-mat.soft↗

arXiv2024

Examination of flow birefringence induced by the shear components along the optical axis using a parallel-plate-type rheometer

In this study, the concept of rheo-optics is applied that explores the flow birefringence caused by stress components along the optical axis of the camera since it is often overlooked in the traditional theories of photoelastic flow measurement. A novel aspect of this research is that it involved conducting polarization measurements on simple shear flows, specifically from a perspective in which a shear-velocity gradient exists along the camera's optical axis. A parallel-plate-type rheometer and a polarization camera are employed for these systematic measurements. The experimental findings for dilute aqueous cellulose nanocrystal suspensions demonstrates that the flow birefringence can be expressed as a power law based on the power of the second invariant of the deformation-rate tensor. This suggests that flow birefringence can be universally characterized by the coordinate-independent invariants and a pre-factor determined by the direction of polarization measurement. By adjusting the nonlinear term in the stress-optic law, its applicability could be expanded to include three-dimensional fluid stress fields in which the stress is distributed along the camera's optical axis.

cond-mat.soft↗

arXiv2024

Flow birefringence of cellulose nanocrystal suspensions in three-dimensional flow fields: revisiting the stress-optic law

This study systematically investigates the flow birefringence of cellulose nanocrystal (CNC) suspensions. The aim is to clarify the importance of the stress component along the camera's optical axis in the stress-optic law (SOL), which describes the relationship between birefringence, the retardation of transmitted polarized light, and the stress field. More than 100 datasets pertaining to the retardation of CNC suspensions (concentrations of 0.1, 0.3, 0.5, and 1.0 wt\%) in a laminar flow field within a rectangular channel (aspect ratios of 0.1, 1, and 3) are systematically obtained. The measured retardation data are compared with the predictions given by the conventional SOL excluding the stress component along the camera's optical axis and by the SOL including these components as second-order terms (2nd-order SOL). The results show that the 2nd-order SOL gives a significantly better agreement with the measurements. Based on the 2nd-order SOL, the retardation at the center of the channel, where the effect of the stress component along the camera's optical axis is most pronounced, is predicted to be proportional to the square of the flow rate, which agrees with the experimental data. The results confirm the importance of considering the stress component along the camera's optical axis in the flow birefringence of CNC suspensions at high flow rates, even for quasi-two-dimensional channel flow.

physics.flu-dyn↗

arXiv2024

Optimal standoff distance for a highly focused microjet penetrating a soft material

A needle-free injector using a highly focused microjet has the potential to minimize the invasiveness of drug delivery. In this study, the jet penetration depth in a soft material-which is a critical parameter for practical needle-free injections-was investigated. We conducted jet penetration experiments by varying the inner diameter of the injection tube and the standoff distance between the meniscus surface and the soft material. Interestingly, the results showed that the penetration depths peaked at certain distances from the meniscus, and the positions shifted further away as the inner diameter was increased. By analyzing the velocity distribution of the microjet, the peak positions of the penetration depth and the maximum velocities were inconsistent due to the effects of the jet shape. To account for this, we introduce the concept of the 'jet pressure impulse', a physical quantity that unifies the velocity and jet shape. However, direct estimation of this parameter from experimental data is challenging due to limitations in spatiotemporal resolution. Therefore, we used numerical simulations to replicate the experimental conditions and calculate the jet pressure impulse. Remarkably, the results show that the jet pressure impulse has peak values, which is consistent with the penetration depth. In addition, there is a correlation between the magnitude of the jet pressure impulse and the penetration depth, highlighting its importance as a key parameter. This study underlines the importance of the jet pressure impulse in controlling the penetration depth of a focused microjet, providing valuable insights for the practical use of needle-free injection techniques.

physics.flu-dyn↗

arXiv2023

High-speed photoelastic tomography for axisymmetric stress fields in a soft material: temporal evolution of all stress components

This study presents a novel approach for reconstructing all stress components of the dynamic axisymmetric fields of a soft material using photoelastic tomography (PT) and a high-speed polarization camera. This study focuses on static and dynamic Hertzian contact as an example of transient stress field reconstructions. For the static Hertzian contact (a solid sphere pressed against a gel block), all stress components in the urethane gel, which has an elastic modulus of 47.4 kPa, were reconstructed by PT using the measured photoelastic parameters. The results were compared with theoretical solutions and showed good agreement. For the dynamic Hertzian contact (a sphere impacting gel), a high-speed polarization camera was used to reconstruct the transient stress field within the gel. PT was used to quantitatively measure the shear and axial stress waves and showed different propagation speeds on the substrate. The technique allowed the simultaneous measurement of stress fields ranging from $O(10^{-1})$ to $O(10^1)$ kPa during large deformations, demonstrating its accuracy in capturing rapidly changing stress tensor components in dynamic scenarios. The scaling laws of the calculated impact force agreed with theoretical predictions, validating the accuracy of PT for measuring dynamic axisymmetric stress fields in soft materials.

cond-mat.soft↗

arXiv2023

The effects of cavitation position on the velocity of a laser-induced microjet extracted using explainable artificial intelligence

The control of the velocity of a high-speed laser-induced microjet is crucial in applications such as needle-free injection. Previous studies have indicated that the jet velocity is heavily influenced by the volumes of secondary cavitation bubbles generated through laser absorption. However, there has been a lack of investigation of the relationship between the positions of cavitation bubbles and the jet velocity. In this study, we investigate the effects of cavitation bubbles on the jet velocity of laser-induced microjets extracted using explainable artificial intelligence (XAI). An XAI is used to classify the jet velocity from images of cavitation bubbles and to extract features from the images through visualization of the classification process. For this purpose, we run 1000 experiments and collect the corresponding images. The XAI model, which is a feedforward neural network (FNN), is trained to classify the jet velocity from the images of cavitation bubbles. After achieving a high classification accuracy, we analyze the classification process of the FNN. The predictions of the FNN, when considering the cavitation positions, show a higher correlation with the jet velocity than the results considering only cavitation volumes. Further investigation suggested that cavitation that occurs closer to the laser focus position has a higher acceleration effect. These results suggest that the velocity of a high-speed microjet is also affected by the cavitation position.

physics.flu-dyn↗

arXiv2023

Measurement of flow birefringence induced by the shear components along the optical axis using a parallel-plate-type rheometer

The present study investigated the flow birefringence induced by shear components along a camera's optical axis, which has been neglected in conventional theories of photoelastic measurements. Measurements were conducted for a wide range of shear rates from a direction perpendicular to the shear using a high-speed polarization camera and a parallel-plate-type rheometer. The measurement results obtained from a fluid with low viscoelasticity, specifically a dilute suspension of cellulose nanocrystals, showed that the birefringence increases monotonically as the stress components along the camera's optical axis increase. It was also found that the birefringence showed a power law with respect to the shear rate. This letter reports a key fact required for polarization measurements of shear rate (shear stress) in three-dimensional flows.

physics.flu-dyn↗

arXiv2022

An investigation of Hertzian contact in soft materials using photoelastic tomography

Hertzian contact of a rigid sphere and a highly deformable soft solid is investigated using integrated photoelasticity. The experiments are performed by pressing a styrene sphere of 15 mm diameter against a 44 x 44 x 47 mm$^3$ cuboid made of 5% wt. gelatin, inside a circular polariscope, and with a range of forces. The emerging light rays are processed by considering that the retardation of each ray carries the cumulative effect of traversing the contact-induced axisymmetric stress field. Then, assuming Hertzian theory is valid, the retardation is analytically calculated for each ray and compared to the experimental one. Furthermore, a finite element model of the process introduces the effect of finite displacements and strains. Beyond the qualitative comparison of the retardation fields, the experimental, theoretical, and numerical results are quantitatively compared in terms of the maximum equivalent stress, surface displacement, and contact radius dimensions. A favorable agreement is found at lower force levels, where the assumptions of Hertz theory hold, whereas deviations are observed at higher force levels. A major discovery of this work is that at the maximum equivalent stress location, all three components of principal stress can be determined experimentally, and show satisfactory agreement with theoretical and numerical ones in our measurement range. This provides valuable insight into Hertzian contact problems since the maximum equivalent stress controls the initiation of plastic deformation or failure. The measured displacement and contact radii also reasonably agree with the theoretical and numerical ones. Finally, the limitations that arise due to the linearization of this problem are explored.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗

arXiv2022

Integrated photoelasticity in a soft material: phase retardation, azimuthal angle and stress-optic coefficient

Integrated photoelasticity is investigated for a soft material subjected to a three-dimensional stress state. In the experiment, a solid sphere is pressed against a gelatin gel (Young's modulus is about 4.2 kPa) that deforms up to 4.5 mm depending on the loading forces. The resulting photoelastic parameters (phase retardation, azimuthal angle, and stress-optic coefficient) in the gel are measured using a polarization camera. The measured retardation and azimuth are compared with the analytical prediction based on Hertzian contact theory. Remarkably, experimental and analytical results of the photoelastic parameters show a reasonable agreement not only in the retardation but also in the azimuth that is related to the direction of principal stresses and but rarely validated in previous studies, is essential for reconstructing three-dimensional stress fields in soft materials. The stress-optic coefficient of the gelatin gel used is 3.12$\times10^{-8}$ 1/Pa. Such findings proved that integrated photoelasticity is useful for measuring the three-dimensional stress field in soft materials, which is of importance in biomedical engineering and cell printing applications.

cond-mat.soft↗

arXiv2022

Droplet impact of blood and blood simulants on a solid surface: Effect of the deformability of red blood cells and the elasticity of plasma

Previous studies suggest that the behaviour of impacting blood is similar to that of a Newtonian fluid, which has a shear viscosity equivalent to that of blood at high shear rates. To understand this important fact, we conducted comparative experiments of droplet impact on a glass surface using whole blood and three solutions with a shear viscosity similar to that of blood. Specifically, we used dog's whole blood (deformable red blood cells dispersed in plasma, WB), plasma with non-deformable resin particles (PwP), glycerol and water with resin particles (GWwP), and a commercial blood simulant (hard particles dispersed in a water-based Newtonian solution, BS). The ranges of Reynolds and Weber numbers in our experiments were 550 $<Re<$ 1700 and 120 $<We<$ 860, respectively. Side and bottom views of droplet impact were simultaneously recorded by two high-speed cameras. The spreading radius of the impacting WB droplet in our experiments agreed well with that of Newtonian fluids with viscosity similar to that of WB at high shear rates. Splashing droplets of WB and Newtonian fluids form finger structures (finger-splashing). Although PwP has a viscosity similar to that of WB at high shear rates, an impacting PwP droplet exhibited typical characteristics of impacting suspension droplets, that is, a reduced spreading radius and splashing with ejection of particles. Such significant differences between impacting droplets of PwP and WB indicates that the high deformability of red blood cells in WB plays a crucial role in the Newtonian-like behaviour of blood droplets on impact. Importantly, the impacting BS droplet behaved quite differently from WB in both spreading and splashing. Our results imply that the use of deformable particles rather than hard particles in a BS is essential for mimicking blood droplet impact.

physics.flu-dyn↗