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Published on: March 3, 2017
Topological Symmetry Breaking in Viscous Coarsening
David Bouttes1, Emmanuelle Gouillart2, Damien Vandembroucq1
1Laboratoire PMMH, UMR 7636 CNRS/ESPCI Paris/Université Pierre et Marie Curie/Université Paris Diderot, PSL Research University, 10 rue Vauquelin, 75231 Paris cedex 05, France.
Abstract:
The crucial role of hydrodynamic pinch-off instabilities is evidenced in the coarsening stage of viscous liquids. The phase separation of a barium borosilicate glass melt is studied by in situ synchrotron tomography at high temperature. The high viscosity contrast between the less viscous phase and the more viscous phase induces a topological symmetry breaking: capillary breakups occur preferentially in the less viscous phase. As a result, contrasting morphologies are obtained in the two phases. This symmetry breaking is illustrated on three different glass compositions, corresponding to different volume fractions of the two phases. In particular, a fragmentation phenomenon, reminiscent of the end-pinching mechanism proposed by Stone and co-workers is evidenced in the less viscous phase.
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