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Measuring the Transition Rates of Coalescence Events during Double Phase Separation in Microgravity.

Ana Oprisan¹, Yves Garrabos², Carole Lecoutre³

¹Department of Physics and Astronomy, College of Charleston, Charleston, SC 29424, USA. oprisana@cofc.edu.

Molecules (Basel, Switzerland)

|July 8, 2017

Summary

Phase separation in sulfur hexafluoride (SF6) under weightlessness revealed universal behaviors. Coalescence mechanisms for liquid droplets and vapor bubbles were identified, with distinct radius evolution rates.

Keywords:

binary coalescence microgravity phase separation

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Area of Science:

Thermodynamics
Fluid Dynamics
Materials Science

Background:

Phase transitions are fundamental processes observed across nature and technology.
Earth's gravity often obscures detailed observations of phase separation dynamics.
Microgravity environments enable the study of critical phenomena in fluids.

Purpose of the Study:

To investigate phase separation behavior of pure fluid sulfur hexafluoride (SF6) near its critical point under weightlessness.
To analyze the dynamics of liquid droplet and vapor bubble coalescence.
To identify universal scaling laws governing phase separation and critical slowing down.

Main Methods:

Experiments conducted in a weightless environment using pure fluid sulfur hexafluoride (SF6).
Inducing phase separation via a precise temperature quench (0.2 mK) below the critical point.
Analyzing droplet and bubble size distributions using lognormal functions and deriving transition rates for coalescence.

Main Results:

Observed double phase separation with liquid droplets in vapor and vapor bubbles in liquid.
Identified two primary coalescence mechanisms: asymmetric (small with large) and symmetric (similar large droplets).
Determined distinct temporal evolutions for mean radii: t^(1/3) for liquid droplets and t^(1/2) for vapor bubbles.

Conclusions:

Weightlessness is crucial for observing universal phase separation dynamics and critical slowing down.
Coalescence processes in SF6 exhibit distinct mechanisms and characteristic scaling laws.
The findings contribute to a deeper understanding of fluid behavior near critical points.