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Updated: Jun 21, 2026

An Analog Macroscopic Technique for Studying Molecular Hydrodynamic Processes in Dense Gases and Liquids
Published on: December 4, 2017
Expanding holes driven by convectionlike flow in vibrated dense suspensions
1Department of Physics, Graduate School of Science, The University of Tokyo, Tokyo 113-0033, Japan. ebata@daisy.phys.s.u-tokyo.ac.jp
Abstract:
Surface instabilities in vertically vibrated suspensions of various powders dispersed in silicone oil are investigated in quasi-two-dimensional (2D) and quasi-one-dimensional (1D) systems. As vibration acceleration exceeded a critical value, the flat surface became unstable against a finite-amplitude perturbation. We found an expanding hole or viscous fingerlike pattern in the quasi-2D system and segregation between dried and wet areas in the quasi-1D system. We show that these instabilities are accompanied by convectionlike flow at their rim and in the quasi-1D system, the height of the convectionlike flow can be scaled by acceleration, vibration frequency, diameter of the dispersed powder, mean density of the suspension, and viscosity of silicone oil. We propose a simple model that accounts for the scaling and concentric motion of the convectionlike flow.
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