Barriers to front propagation in laminar, three-dimensional fluid flows
Related Experiment Video
Updated: Feb 10, 2026

The Diffusion of Passive Tracers in Laminar Shear Flow
Published on: May 1, 2018
Minh Doan1, J J Simons1, Katherine Lilienthal1
1Department of Physics and Astronomy, Bucknell University, Lewisburg, Pennsylvania 17837, USA.
Abstract:
We present experiments on one-way barriers that block reaction fronts in a fully three-dimensional (3D) fluid flow. Fluorescent Belousov-Zhabotinsky reaction fronts are imaged with laser-scanning in a laminar, overlapping vortex flow. The barriers are analyzed with a 3D extension to burning invariant manifold (BIM) theory that was previously applied to two-dimensional advection-reaction-diffusion processes. We discover tube and sheet barriers that guide the front evolution. The experimentally determined barriers are explained by BIMs calculated from a model of the flow.
More Related Videos
12:43Parallel-plate Flow Chamber and Continuous Flow Circuit to Evaluate Endothelial Progenitor Cells under Laminar Flow Shear Stress
Published on: January 17, 2012
07:41Three-dimensional Cell Culture Model for Measuring the Effects of Interstitial Fluid Flow on Tumor Cell Invasion
Published on: July 25, 2012
Related Concept Videos
Laminar Flow
Laminar Flow: Problem Solving
Laminar and Turbulent Flow
Steady, Laminar Flow Between Parallel Plates
Steady, Laminar Flow in Circular Tubes
Steady Flow of a Fluid Stream
During this process, the momentum of the fluid within the control volume remains constant over the time interval dt. By applying the...