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An experimental study of the Saffman-Taylor instability

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  21 April 2006

P. Tabeling ,
G. Zocchi  and
A. Libchaber
P. Tabeling
Affiliation:
The James Franck Institute and E. Fermi Institute, University of Chicago, 5640 S. Ellis Avenue, Chicago 60615, USA
G. Zocchi
Affiliation:
The James Franck Institute and E. Fermi Institute, University of Chicago, 5640 S. Ellis Avenue, Chicago 60615, USA
A. Libchaber
Affiliation:
The James Franck Institute and E. Fermi Institute, University of Chicago, 5640 S. Ellis Avenue, Chicago 60615, USA
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Abstract

An experiment on the Saffman-Taylor instability with wetting fluids is presented that explores a greater range of capillary numbers than did the original experiment of Saffman and Taylor. It turns out that no clear one-half plateau for the finger size is observed, and that the ensemble of experiments cannot be analysed in terms of a single control parameter. The effect of the film of oil left behind the finger is important, and we measure its thickness. A qualitative discussion of the instabilities of the fingers for large capillary numbers is presented, the first instability leading to asymmetrical fingers. Tip splitting appears for larger values of 1/B. The 1/B value for the onset of instabilities is shown to be noise dependent.

Type
Research Article
Information
Journal of Fluid Mechanics , Volume 177 , April 1987 , pp. 67 - 82
Copyright
© 1987 Cambridge University Press

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