Abstract.
The often quoted analogy between foams and emulsions is experimentally tested by studying properties after settling and under forced drainage of oil-in-water emulsions of drop size similar as for bubbles generally used in foam experiments. Observations with regard to structure, water fraction and drainage wave properties confirm the expected similarity in the low flow rate range. However, while for foams a convective circulation on the scale of the container sets in for values of water fraction exceeding about 0.2, no such convection is found in emulsions. Here instabilities are only encountered at water fractions of about 0.4, close to the void fraction of random packings of spheres. These take on the form of descending pulses of increased water fraction and lead to the transition from a frozen to a locally agitated structure.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
D. Weaire, S. Hutzler, The Physics of Foams (Oxford University Press, Oxford, 1999).
T.G. Mason, J. Bibette, D.A. Weitz, Phys. Rev. Lett. 75, 2051 (1995).
A. Saint-Jalmes, D.J. Durian, J. Rheol. 43, 1411 (1999).
W. Drenckhan, F. Elias, S. Hutzler, D. Weaire, E. Janiaud, J.-C. Bacri, J. Appl. Phys. 93, 10078 (2003).
J. Bibette, J. Colloid Interface Sci. 147, 474 (1991).
N. Pittet, N. Rivier, D. Weaire, Forma 10, 65 (1995).
N. Rivier, R. Occelli, J. Pantaloni, A. Lissowski, J. Phys. 45, 49 (1984).
S. Hutzler, D. Weaire, R. Crawford, Phil. Mag. B 75, 845 (1997).
D. Weaire, S. Hutzler, G. Verbist, E.A.J.F. Peters, Adv. Chem. Phys. 102, 315 (1997).
S.A. Koehler, S. Hilgenfeldt, H.A. Stone, Langmuir 16, 6327 (2000).
S. Koehler (private communication).
S. Hutzler, S. Cox, D. Weaire, P.J. Wilde, in Foams, Emulsions and their Applications, edited by P.L.J. Zitha, J. Banhart, G.L.M.M. Verbist (Verlag MIT, Bremen, 2000) p. 5.
D. Langevin, Adv. Colloid Interface Sci. 88, 209 (2000).
D.J.M. Bergins-Martens, H.J. Bos, A. Prins, J. Colloid Interface Sci. 165, 221 (1994).
R. Tuinier, C.G.J. Bisperink, C. Van den Berg, A. Prins, J. Colloid Interface Sci. 179, 327 (1996).
E.H. Lucassen-Reynders, in Physical Chemistry of Surfactant Action, Anionic Surfactants, edited by E.H. Lucassen-Reynders, Vol. 11 (Dekker, New-York, 1981).
C. Barentin, C. Ybert, J.-M. Di Meglio, J.-F. Joanny, J. Fluid Mech. 397, 331 (1999).
F. Bouchama, J.-M. Di Meglio, Colloid Polym. Sci. 278, 195 (2000).
E. Guyon, J.-P. Hulin, L. Petit, Hydrodynamique Physique (Intereditions/Editions du CNRS, Paris, 1991).
S. Hutzler, M. Crofton, unpublished results (2001).
M.M. Robins, D.J. Hibberd, in Modern Aspects of Emulsion Science, edited by B.P. Binks (Royal Society of Chemistry, England, 1998) Chapt. 4: Emulsion Flocculation and Creaming.
D. Weaire, S. Hutzler, S. Cox, N. Kern, M.D. Alonso, W. Drenkham, J. Phys. Condens. Matter 15, S65 (2003).
S. Hutzler, D. Weaire, R. Crawford, Europhys. Lett. 41, 461 (1998).
M.U. Vera, A. Saint-Jalmes, D.J. Durian, Phys. Rev. Lett. 41, 3001 (1998).
R. Jackson, The Dynamics of Fluidized Particles (Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, 2000).
P. Duru, M. Nicolas, J. Hinch, E. Guazzelli, J. Fluid Mech. 452, 371 (2002).
D. Weaire, S. Hutzler, Phil. Mag. 83, 2747 (2003).
W. Drenckhan, S. Hutzler, D. Weaire, in Proceedings of the 1st International Conference on Modern Trends of Physics Research, Cairo, Egypt (2004), to be published by the American Institute of Physics.
F. Elias, C. Flament, J.C. Bacri, O. Cardoso, F. Graner, Phys. Rev. E Part. B 56, 3310 (1997).
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Additional information
Received: 12 December 2003, Published online: 24 August 2004
PACS:
82.70.-y Disperse systems; complex fluids - 47.20.-k Hydrodynamic stability - 47.55.Dz Drops and bubbles
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Hutzler, S., Péron, N., Weaire, D. et al. The foam/emulsion analogy in structure and drainage. Eur. Phys. J. E 14, 381–386 (2004). https://doi.org/10.1140/epje/i2003-10152-1
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1140/epje/i2003-10152-1