Emilie Verneuil

Laser-Induced Force on a Microfluidic Drop : Origin and Magnitude

The localized heating produced by a tightly focused infrared laser leads to surface tension gradients at the interface of microfluidic drops covered with surfactants, resulting in a net force on the drop whose origin and magnitude are the focus of this paper. First, by colocalization of the surfactant micelles with a fluorescent dye, we demonstrate that the heating alters their spatial distribution, driving the interface out of equilibrium. This soluto-capillary effect opposes and overcomes the purely thermal dependence of the surface tension, leading to reversed interfacial flows. As the surface of the drop is set into motion, recirculation rolls are created outside and inside the drop, which we measure using time-resolved micro-Particle Image Velocimetry. Second, the net force produced on the drop is measured using an original microfluidic design. For a drop 300 microm-long and 100 microm-wide, we obtain a force of 180 nN for a laser power of 100 mW. This micro-dynanometer further shows that the magnitude of the heating, which is determined by the laser power and its absorption in the water, sets the magnitude of the net force on the drop. On the other hand, the dynamics of the force generation is limited by the time scale for heating, which has independently been measured to be tau(Theta) = 4 ms. This time scale sets the maximum velocity that the drops can have and still be blocked, by requiring that the interface passes the laser spot in a time longer than tau(Theta). The maximum velocity is measured at U(max) = 0.7 mm/s for our geometric conditions. Finally, a scaling model is derived that describes the blocking force in a confined geometry as the result of the viscous stresses produced by the shear between the drop and the lateral walls.

Adhesion on Microstructured Surfaces

Using a homemade setup, we investigated the adhesion between soft elastic substrates bearing surface microstructures (array of caps [resp., holes] of height [resp., depth] h) and a smooth surface of the same rubber. In the framework of the classical model developed by Johnson, Kendall, and Roberts, we show the following. (i) The existence of a critical height h c for the microstructures, resulting from a competition between the adhesion energy and the elastic deformation energy necessary to invade the pattern: for h < h c , the bead and the substrate are in intimate contact even when the applied force is zero, and for h > h c , an air film remains intercalated in the microstructure, and the contact is limited to the top of the caps or between the holes. The transition between these two states can be induced by increasing the squeezing force. (ii) The adhesion energy, W, of intimate contacts (h < h c ) decreases as the height increases. Suspended contacts correspond to a low adhesion and a nearly Hertzian behavior. Using simple scaling arguments and a two-level energetic description (single microstructure and whole contact) we propose a semiquantitative description of these observations.

Dynamic wetting on a thin film of soluble polymer: effects of nonlinearities in the sorption isotherm.

The wetting dynamics of a solvent on a soluble substrate interestingly results from the rates of the solvent transfers into the substrate. When a supported film of a hydrosoluble polymer with thickness e is wet by a spreading droplet of water with instantaneous velocity U, the contact angle is measured to be inversely proportionate to the product of thickness and velocity, eU, over two decades. As for many hydrosoluble polymers, the polymer we used (a polysaccharide) has a strongly nonlinear sorption isotherm φ(a(w)), where φ is the volume fraction of water in the polymer and aw is the activity of water. For the first time, this nonlinearity is accounted for in the dynamics of water uptake by the substrate. Indeed, by measuring the water content in the polymer around the droplet φ at distances as small as 5 μm, we find that the hydration profile exhibits (i) a strongly distorted shape that results directly from the nonlinearities of the sorption isotherm and (ii) a cutoff length ξ below which the water content in the substrate varies very slowly. The nonlinearities in the sorption isotherm and the hydration at small distances from the line were not accounted for by Tay et al., Soft Matter 2011, 7, 6953. Here, we develop a comprehensive description of the hydration of the substrate ahead of the contact line that encompasses the two water transfers at stake: (i) the evaporation-condensation process by which water transfers into the substrate through the atmosphere by the condensation of the vapor phase, which is fed by the evaporation from the droplet itself, and (ii) the diffusion of liquid water along the polymer film. We find that the eU rescaling of the contact angle arises from the evaporation-condensation process at small distances. We demonstrate why it is not modified by the second process.

Axisymmetric two-sphere sedimentation in a shear thinning viscoelastic fluid: Particle interactions and induced fluid velocity fields

We investigate the link between particle interactions and induced flow patterns around two identical spheres sedimenting along their centerline in a polymeric fluid. The fluid is strongly shear thinning and, in agreement with previous results, the spheres are observed to chain even at large initial separation distances. The wake of a single particle displays an upward motion of fluid, i.e., a “negative wake” that is commonly observed in fluids with low extensional viscosities. We show that the features of this negative wake vary only weakly with the Deborah number. In the two-sphere case, the pattern of the induced flow depends on the sphere separation distance. The change in the flow pattern does not, however, induce any significant qualitative change in the sphere interactions. Upstream of the leading sphere and downstream of the trailing one along the sedimentation axis, the variations of the fluid velocity are well described by a single master curve for different values of the sphere separation distan...