Ion Dan Borcia

Can Vibrations Control Drop Motion

We discuss a mechanism for controlled motion of drops with applications for microfluidics and microgravity. The mechanism is the following: a solid plate supporting a liquid droplet is simultaneously subject to lateral and vertical harmonic oscillations. In this way the symmetry of the back-and-forth droplet movement along the substrate under inertial effects is broken and thus will induce a net driven motion of the drop. We study the dependency of the traveled distance on the oscillation parameters (forcing amplitude, frequency, and phase shift between the two perpendicular oscillations) via phase field simulations. The internal flow structure inside the droplet is also investigated. We make predictions on resonance frequencies for drops on a substrate with a varying wettability.

Thin film lubrication dynamics of a binary mixture: Example of an oscillatory instability

We study thin film instabilities in liquid films with deformable surface using the lubrication theory. An externally applied vertical temperature gradient may give cause to an instability (Marangoni instability) of the flat motionless film. Contrary to the earlier work where mostly pure fluids were discussed, the focus of the present paper lays on instabilities in mixtures of two completely miscible liquids. We show that the normally found monotonic long-wave instability may turn into an oscillatory one if the two components have a different surface tension and if the Soret coefficient establishes a stabilizing vertical concentration gradient. A systematic derivation of the basic equations in long-wave approximation is given. The character of instabilities is studied using linear stability analysis. Finally, a real system consisting of a water-isopropanol mixture is discussed in some detail.

Temperature fluctuations in a changing climate: an ensemble-based experimental approach

There is an ongoing debate in the literature about whether the present global warming is increasing local and global temperature variability. The central methodological issues of this debate relate to the proper treatment of normalised temperature anomalies and trends in the studied time series which may be difficult to separate from time-evolving fluctuations. Some argue that temperature variability is indeed increasing globally, whereas others conclude it is decreasing or remains practically unchanged. Meanwhile, a consensus appears to emerge that local variability in certain regions (e.g. Western Europe and North America) has indeed been increasing in the past 40 years. Here we investigate the nature of connections between external forcing and climate variability conceptually by using a laboratory-scale minimal model of mid-latitude atmospheric thermal convection subject to continuously decreasing ‘equator-to-pole’ temperature contrast ΔT, mimicking climate change. The analysis of temperature records from an ensemble of experimental runs (‘realisations’) all driven by identical time-dependent external forcing reveals that the collective variability of the ensemble and that of individual realisations may be markedly different – a property to be considered when interpreting climate records.

Double-diffusive convection and baroclinic instability in a differentially heated and initially stratified rotating system: the barostrat instability

A water-filled differentially heated rotating annulus with initially prepared stable vertical salinity profiles is studied in the laboratory. Based on two-dimensional horizontal particle image velocimetry (PIV) data, and infrared camera visualizations, we describe the appearance and the characteristics of the baroclinic instability in this original configuration. First, we show that when the salinity profile is linear and confined between two non stratified layers at top and bottom, only two separate shallow fluid layers can be destabilized. These unstable layers appear nearby the top and the bottom of the tank with a stratified motionless zone between them. This laboratory arrangement is thus particularly interesting to model geophysical or astrophysical situations where stratified regions are often juxtaposed to convective ones. Then, for more general but stable initial density profiles, statistical measures are introduced to quantify the extent of the baroclinic instability at given depths and to analyze the connections between this depth-dependence and the vertical salinity profiles. We find that, although the presence of stable stratification generally hinders full-depth overturning, double-diffusive convection can yield development of multicellular sideways convection in shallow layers and subsequently to a multilayered baroclinic instability. Therefore we conclude that by decreasing the characteristic vertical scale of the flow, stratification may even enhance the formation of cyclonic and anticyclonic eddies (and thus, mixing) in a local sense.

Inertial wave mode excitation in a rotating annulus with partially librating boundaries

Inertial modes are excited in a fluid filled rotating annulus by modulating the rotation rate of the outer cylinder and the upper and lower lids. This forcing leads to inertial wave beams being emitted from the corner regions of the annulus due to periodic motions in the boundary layers. When the forcing frequency matches the eigenfrequency of the rotating annulus the beam pattern amplitude is increasing, the beams broaden and mode structures can be observed. The eigenmodes are compared with analytical solutions of the corresponding inviscid problem. In particular for the pressure field a good agreement can be found. However, shear layers related to the excited wave beams are present for all frequencies. This becomes obvious particularly in the experimental visualizations that are carried out by using Kalliroscope particles, highlighting relative motion in the fluid. Comparing the eigenfrequencies we find that relative to the analytical frequencies, the experimental and numerical ones show a small shift towards higher frequencies. This frequency shift is due to the reduction of the effective resonance volume that results from the existence of a Stokes boundary layer at the outer librating wall. Due to the symmetry of the forcing not all possible modes can be excited. It is shown that only symmetric modes with respect to the rotation axis exist. From a fundamental perspective, the study might help to better understand inertial mode excitation in librating planets and moons where inertial waves are emitted from critical points on the inner or outer spherical boundary.

Liquid layers on patterned surfaces

We examine numerically the behavior of liquid layers on horizontal patterned surfaces with hydrophobic and hydrophilic stripes. To this aim we use a phase field model as a mathematical tool with the density as the order parameter. The theoretical description is based on the Navier–Stokes equation with extra phase field terms and the continuity equation. The surface heterogeneity is controlled through the boundary conditions for the density field at the liquid–solid interface.

Simulation of Pattern Morphology in Binary Liquid Mixtures

3D simulation results are reported for the case of a binary liquid mixture with free upper surface. The model is based on the lubrication approximation and includes the Soret effect. A coordinate change based on the film equation allows to use a constant number of integration points for solving the partial differential equation system. At the same time in the new space one can simply impose the boundary conditions. A linear analysis and fully 3D nonlinear simulations are performed. Pattern formation and coarsening are studied for the cases of monotonic and oscillatory instabilities.