Paul Duru

Compaction of a granular material under cyclic shear

Abstract:In this paper we present experimental results concerning the compaction of a granular assembly of spheres under periodic shear deformation. The dynamics of the system is slow and continuous when the amplitude of the shear is constant, but exhibits rapid evolution of the volume fraction when a sudden change in shear amplitude is imposed. This rapid response is shown to be uncorrelated with the slow compaction process.

Colloidal surface interactions and membrane fouling: Investigations at pore scale

In this paper, we examine the contributions of colloidal surface interaction in filtration processes. In a first part, we describe the way surface interactions affect the transport of colloidal particles or macromolecules towards a membrane, and its theoretical description. The concept of critical flux is introduced and linked to particle-membrane wall and particle-particle surface interactions. From this review, it seems important to consider how surface interactions occur at pore scale and control the development of fouling layers. In this context, we report in a second part experiments where the capture of micron-sized particles is observed in a poly-dimethylsiloxane (PDMS) microfluidic filtration device. Direct observations of the filtering part by video-microscopy allow to investigate the way the fouling of the microchannels by the particles is taking place. The experimental results underline the important role played by the particle-wall interactions on the way particles are captured during filtration. A small change in surface properties of the PDMS has important consequences in the way pore clogging occurs: in more hydrophobic conditions the particles first form arches at the microchannels entrance, then leading to the growth of a filtration cake, whereas in more hydrophilic conditions the particles are captured on the walls between the microchannels, then leading to the progressive formation of dendrites. To conclude, both experimental and theoretical approaches show the important role played by surface interactions in filtration processes. The complex interplay between multi-body surface interactions and hydrodynamics at nanometric scale leads to clogging phenomena observed experimentally in microfluidic systems that have not been predicted by numerical simulations. In the future, the two way coupling between simulation and experimental approaches at the pore scale have to progress in order to reach a full understanding of the contribution of colloid science in membrane processes.

Constitutive laws in liquid-fluidized beds

The objective of the present work is to test experimentally the two-phase modelling approach which is widely used in fluidization. A diculty of this way of modelling fluidized beds is the use of empirical relations in order to close the system of equations describing the fluidized bed as a two-phase continuum, especially concerning the description of the solid phase. We performed an experimental investigation of the primary wavy instability of liquid-fluidized beds. Experiments demonstrate that the wave amplitude saturates up the bed and we were able to measure the precise shape of this voidage wave. We then related this shape to the unknown solid phase viscosity and pressure functions of a simple two-phase model with a Newtonian stress-tensor for the solid phase. We found the scaling laws and the particle concentration dependence for these two quantities. It appears that this simplest model is quite satisfactory to describe the one-dimensional voidage waves in the limited range of parameters that we have studied. In our experimental conditions, the drag on the particles nearly balances their weight corrected for buoyancy, the small imbalance being mostly accounted for by solid phase viscous stress with a much smaller contribution from the solid phase pressure.

Experimental investigation on the secondary instability of liquid-fluidized beds and the formation of bubbles

The objective of the present work is to investigate experimentally the secondary instability of the one-dimensional voidage waves occurring in two-dimensional liquid- fluidized beds and to examine the physical origin of bubbles, i.e. regions devoid of particles, which arise in fluidization. In the case of moderate-density glass particles, we observe the formation of transient buoyant blobs clearly resulting from the destabilization of the one-dimensional wavy structure. With metallic beads of the same size but larger density, the same destabilization occurs but it leads to the formation of real bubbles. Comparison with previous analytical and numerical studies is attempted. Whereas the linear and weakly nonlinear analytical models are not appropriate, the direct nonlinear simulations provide a qualitative agreement with the observed destabilization mechanism.

Particle deposition onto a microsieve

The objective of the present work is to investigate experimentally the deposition of micron-sized particles onto the surface of a microsieve membrane, which consists in a thin screen with patterned circular holes. A dilute suspension of spherical, monodisperse, polystyrene particles flows at an imposed flow rate through the membrane, in a frontal filtration mode (i.e., the flow direction is perpendicular to the membrane). The particle-to-pore diameter ratio is inferior to one. The particle and flow Reynolds numbers are both smaller than 0.1 for the flow regimes investigated in the present study. The particles are non-Brownian, inertialess, and their buoyancy is negligible. Direct visualizations of the membrane are made using video microscopy. A statistical analysis of the particle deposition locations, based on an automatic processing of video images of the membrane surface recorded during the experiment, is made possible by the periodicity of the pore distribution. Experiments show the existence of two p...

Depinning of evaporating liquid films in square capillary tubes: Influence of corners’ roundedness

In this paper, evaporation of a volatile, perfectly wettingliquid confined in an initially filled capillary tube of square internal cross section is studied, when conditions are such that liquid films develop along the tube internal corners under the effect of capillary forces, as the bulk meniscus recedes inside the tube. More precisely, the emphasis is on the moment when the liquid film tips depin from the tube top once they have reached a critical length, a phenomenon observed in experiments. A model taking into account liquid corner flow and phase change at the film tip is proposed in order to predict the critical film length at depinning. The model is found to be in good agreement with experimental data and highlights that the critical film length depends strongly on the degree of roundedness of the tube internal corners. Thus, it is crucial to take into account this purely geometrical factor when modeling evaporation in polygonal capillary tubes or, more generally, corner flows in a rounded wedge.

Velocimetry of red blood cells in microvessels by the dual-slit method: effect of velocity gradients.

The dual-slit is a photometric technique used for the measurement of red blood cell (RBC) velocity in microvessels. Two photometric windows (slits) are positioned along the vessel. Because the light is modulated by the RBCs flowing through the microvessel, a time dependent signal is captured for each window. A time delay between the two signals is obtained by temporal cross correlation, and is used to deduce a velocity, knowing the distance between the two slits. Despite its wide use in the field of microvascular research, the velocity actually measured by this technique has not yet been unambiguously related to a relevant velocity scale of the flow (e.g. mean or maximal velocity) or to the blood flow rate. This is due to a lack of fundamental understanding of the measurement and also because such a relationship is crucially dependent on the non-uniform velocity distribution of RBCs in the direction parallel to the light beam, which is generally unknown. The aim of the present work is to clarify the physical significance of the velocity measured by the dual-slit technique. For that purpose, dual-slit measurements were performed on computer-generated image sequences of RBCs flowing in microvessels, which allowed all the parameters related to this technique to be precisely controlled. A parametric study determined the range of optimal parameters for the implementation of the dual-slit technique. In this range, it was shown that, whatever the parameters governing the flow, the measured velocity was the maximal RBC velocity found in the direction parallel to the light beam. This finding was then verified by working with image sequences of flowing RBCs acquired in PDMS micro-systems in vitro. Besides confirming the results and physical understanding gained from the study with computer generated images, this in vitro study showed that the profile of RBC maximal velocity across the channel was blunter than a parabolic profile, and exhibited a non-zero sliding velocity at the channel walls. Overall, the present work demonstrates the robustness and high accuracy of the optimized dual-slit technique in various flow conditions, especially at high hematocrit, and discusses its potential for applications in vivo.

Going beyond 20 μm-sized channels for studying red blood cell phase separation in microfluidic bifurcations

Despite the development of microfluidics, experimental challenges are considerable for achieving a quantitative study of phase separation, i.e., the non-proportional distribution of Red Blood Cells (RBCs) and suspending fluid, in microfluidic bifurcations with channels smaller than 20 μm. Yet, a basic understanding of phase separation in such small vessels is needed for understanding the coupling between microvascular network architecture and dynamics at larger scale. Here, we present the experimental methodologies and measurement techniques developed for that purpose for RBC concentrations (tube hematocrits) ranging between 2% and 20%. The maximal RBC velocity profile is directly measured by a temporal cross-correlation technique which enables to capture the RBC slip velocity at walls with high resolution, highlighting two different regimes (flat and more blunted ones) as a function of RBC confinement. The tube hematocrit is independently measured by a photometric technique. The RBC and suspending fluid flow rates are then deduced assuming the velocity profile of a Newtonian fluid with no slip at walls for the latter. The accuracy of this combination of techniques is demonstrated by comparison with reference measurements and verification of RBC and suspending fluid mass conservation at individual bifurcations. The present methodologies are much more accurate, with less than 15% relative errors, than the ones used in previous in vivo experiments. Their potential for studying steady state phase separation is demonstrated, highlighting an unexpected decrease of phase separation with increasing hematocrit in symmetrical, but not asymmetrical, bifurcations and providing new reference data in regimes where in vitro results were previously lacking.

Control of evaporation by geometry in capillary structures. From confined pillar arrays in a gap radial gradient to phyllotaxy-inspired geometry

Evaporation is a key phenomenon in the natural environment and in many technological systems involving capillary structures. Understanding the evaporation front dynamics enables the evaporation rate from microfluidic devices and porous media to be finely controlled. Of particular interest is the ability to control the position of the front through suitable design of the capillary structure. Here, we show how to design model capillary structures in microfluidic devices so as to control the drying kinetics. This is achieved by acting on the spatial organization of the constrictions that influence the invasion of the structure by the gas phase. Two types of control are demonstrated. The first is intended to control the sequence of primary invasions through the pore space, while the second aims to control the secondary liquid structures: films, bridges, etc., that can form in the region of pore space invaded by the gas phase. It is shown how the latter can be obtained from phyllotaxy-inspired geometry. Our study thus opens up a route toward the control of the evaporation kinetics by means of tailored capillary structures.

Flow of concentrated red blood cell suspensions at micro-bifurcations: an in vitro experimental study

The aim of this work was to investigate the phaseseparation effect in vitro for channels ,20 mm and for intermediate haematocrits, that is physiological conditions under which the effect is significant. For this purpose, we use RBC suspensions, microfluidic devices modelling microvascular bifurcations and new metrologies allowing the simultaneous quantification of both blood and RBC flow rates in the three branches of the bifurcation. First, these metrologies were validated by checking that their results are consistent with mass conservation of both blood and RBCs at microbifurcations. Second, the phase separation effect was studied, and the result compared with previous experimental and numerical results (Pries et al. 1989; Doyeux et al. 2011).