Franck Plouraboué

Tracer Dispersion in Rough Open Cracks

Tracer dispersion is studied in an open crack where the two rough crack faces have been translated with respect to each other. The different dispersion regimes encountered in rough-wall Hele-Shaw cell are first introduced, and the geometric dispersion regime in the case of self-affine crack surfaces is treated in detail through perturbation analysis. It is shown that a line of tracer is progressively wrinkled into a self-affine curve with an exponent equal to that of the crack surface. This leads to a global dispersion coefficient which depends on the distance from the tracer inlet, but which is still proportional to the mean advection velocity. Besides, the tracer front is subjected to a local dispersion (as could be revealed by point measurements or echo experiments) very different from the global one. The expression of this anomalous local dispersion coefficient is also obtained.

Experimental study of the transport properties of rough self-affine fractures

An experimental study of the transport properties of fluid-saturated joints composed of two complementary rough fracture surfaces, translated with respect to each other and brought in contact, is reported. Quantitative roughness measurements on different fractured granite samples show that the surfaces have a self-affine geometry from which the dependence of the mean aperture on the relative displacement of fracture surfaces kept in contact can be predicted. Variations of the hydraulic and electrical conductances of the joint are measured as functions of its mean aperture. A simple parallel plane model accounts for the global trend of the measurements, but significant deviations are observed when a relative lateral displacement of the surfaces is introduced. A theoretical analysis of their origin shows that they are due both to the randomness of the aperture field and to a nonzero local slope of the surface near the injection hole; the corresponding conductivity fluctuation amplitudes have power law and linear variations with the lateral displacement, and are enhanced by the radial injection geometry.

Average flow model of rough surface lubrication: Flow factors for sinusoidal surfaces

The effects of lubricant film flow, pressurized and sheared between two parallel sinusoidal wavy surfaces in sliding motion is studied analytically. Results are presented using a flow factor model which provides an average description of the surfaces roughness impact. Two distinct cases are studied in order to compare stationary or time dependent local aperture configurations. Flow factors are computed respectively for each case through spatial or spatio-temporal average, revealing striking differences. The results shed light on the relevance of the composite roughness concept. Special attention is paid to the flow factor analytical behavior when surfaces are near contact.

Averaged Reynolds equation for flows between rough surfaces in sliding motion

The flow between rough surfaces in sliding motion with contacts between these surfaces, is analyzed through the volume averaging method. Assuming a Reynolds (lubrication) approximation at the roughness scale, an average flow model is obtained combining spatial and time average. Time average, which is often omitted in previous works, is specially discussed. It is shown that the effective transport coefficients, traditionally termed ‘flow factors’ in the lubrication literature, that appear in the average equations can be obtained from the solution to two closure problems. This allows for the numerical determination of flow factors on firmer bases and sheds light on some arguments to the literature. Moreover, fluid flows through fractures form an important subset of problems embodied in the present analysis, for which macroscopisation is given.

A network model of the coupling of ion channels with secondary messenger in cell signalling

We demonstrate that formal neural network techniques allow us to build the simplest models compatible with a limited but systematic set of experimental data. The experimental system under study is the growth of mouse macrophage like cell lines under the combined influence of two ion channels, the growth factor receptor and adenylate cyclase. We conclude that three components out of four can be described by linear multithreshold automata. The remaining component behaviour being non-monotonic necessitates the introduction of a fifth hidden variable, or of nonlinear interactions.

Turbulence of swarming sperm

Collective motion of self-sustained swarming flows has recently provided examples of small-scale turbulence arising where viscous effects are dominant. We report the first observation of universal enstrophy cascade in concentrated swarming sperm consistent with a body of evidence built from various independent measurements. We found a well-defined k^{-3} power-law decay of a velocity field power spectrum and relative dispersion of small beads consistent with theoretical predictions in 2D turbulence. Concentrated living sperm displays long-range, correlated whirlpool structures of a size that provides an integral scale of turbulence. We propose a consistent explanation for this quasi-2D turbulence based on self-structured laminated flow forced by steric interactions and alignment, a state of active matter that we call swarming liquid crystal. We develop scaling arguments consistent with this interpretation.

Experimental study of the roughness of crumpled surfaces

We report on the experimental study of the roughness of randomly crumpled surfaces which are unfolded. This system provides a natural example of random surfaces which exhibit long-range correlations. It is shown that such rough surfaces are self-affine with a Hurst exponent H ≈ 0.9. A simple one-dimensional model illustrates the way long-range correlations may naturally occur in the crumpling process.

Electrohydrodynamic thrust for in-atmosphere propulsion

The electrohydrodynamic thrust generated by wire–cylinder electrodes under high dc voltage is experimentally analyzed. Some recent experimental studies have shown that electrohydrodynamic thrusters produced by corona discharge and ionic wind are able to deliver high thrust-to-power ratio, which reopens prospects for electrohydrodynamic propulsion. From simple considerations based on ultralight aircraft mass, aerodynamics, battery mass, and experimental electrohydrodynamic thrust densities, their potential for applications is showcased. Furthermore, an experimental study is performed, for which the experimental observations are presented in terms of electric field and thrust density. This allows a simplified and synthetic presentation of propulsive properties. Various experimental biases have been identified and corrected. The measure of time-periodic oscillations of the airflow in the back of the thruster pinpoints a possible wake effect due to the impact of ionic wind on electrodes. The variations of the associated drag are studied when varying the position of the collecting electrodes. It is shown that aerodynamic losses can be significant in experimental electrohydrodynamic thrusters.

SHADOWS IN A SELF-AFFINE LANDSCAPE

We study the distribution of shadows cast in a self-affine landscape. For incidental parallel light forming an angle θ with the basal plane of the landscape, we find that the percentage of the landscape which is illuminated scales as δM=(tan θ)−1/(1−H), where H is the Hurst exponent. The distribution of shadow lengths measured along a cut in the landscape parallel to the incidental light has the form N(δ, θ)=(1/δδM)ϕ(δ/δM), where δ is the length of a shadow, and ϕ is a scaling function whose behavior for small arguments is ϕ(x)∝x−H. We support and illustrate our results with numerical simulations. They form the basis for an efficient method to study self-affine surfaces, and should be of particular interest, for example, in the planetary sciences and fractography.

Light scattering from cold rolled aluminum surfaces

We present experimental light scattering measurements from aluminum surfaces obtained by cold rolling. We show that our results are consistent with a scale invariant description of the roughness of these surfaces. The roughness parameters that we obtain from the light scattering experiment are consistent with those obtained from atomic force microscopy measurements.