Related Experiment Video
Updated: Sep 22, 2025
12:55
Chemical Gardens as Flow-through Reactors Simulating Natural Hydrothermal Systems
Published on: November 18, 2015
14.6K
Archimedean Spirals Form at Low Flow Rates in Confined Chemical Gardens
Luis A M Rocha1, Lewis Thorne1, Jasper J Wong1
1Department of Chemical Engineering and Biotechnology, University of Cambridge, Cambridge CB2 3RA, U.K.
Langmuir : the ACS Journal of Surfaces and Colloids
|May 20, 2022
Summary
Researchers studied confined chemical garden patterns, observing spiral formation from cobalt chloride and sodium silicate. Mathematical modeling helped estimate precipitate density and membrane permeability.
Area of Science:
- Materials Science
- Chemical Engineering
- Fluid Dynamics
Background:
- Chemical gardens exhibit complex pattern formation.
- Confined geometries influence precipitate growth dynamics.
- Previous studies explored filament formation in chemical gardens.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the formation of confined chemical garden patterns.
- To model the growth dynamics of spiral structures.
- To determine key physical parameters of the precipitate.
Main Methods:
- Utilized a Hele-Shaw cell for confined experiments.
- Injected cobalt chloride solution into sodium silicate.
- Developed mathematical models to simulate growth.
- Estimated precipitate density and membrane permeability.
Main Results:
- Observed the formation of Archimedean spiral structures.
- Characterized precipitate growth as filament wrapping around a "candy floss" core.
- Quantified effective precipitate density.
- Calculated membrane permeability.
Conclusions:
- Successfully described and modeled confined chemical garden spiral formation.
- Provided insights into the physical properties governing precipitate growth.
- Contributed to the understanding of pattern formation in confined reactive systems.
Related Concept Videos
01:23Steady, Laminar Flow in Circular Tubes
443
Hagen-Poiseuille flow describes a viscous fluid's steady, incompressible flow through a cylindrical tube with a constant radius R. This flow profile is often applied to understand fluid transport in narrow channels, such as capillaries. It serves as a foundational example of laminar flow. In this model, cylindrical coordinates (r,θ,z) are used to describe the radial (r), angular (θ), and axial (z) dimensions within the tube. For Hagen-Poiseuille flow, the velocity profile is...
443
01:25Design Example: Flow of Oil Through Circular Pipes
187
Understanding fluid flow behavior through pipes is critical in fluid mechanics, especially in applications like oil transportation through pipelines. Hagen-Poiseuille's law provides an exact solution derived from the Navier-Stokes equations for steady, incompressible, and laminar flow within a circular pipe. Hagen-Poiseuille's law helps determine the necessary pressure drop across a pipeline section by determining parameters like pipe length, radius, oil viscosity, and the desired...
187
01:19Capillarity in Fluid
418
Capillarity describes the movement of liquid in small spaces without external forces acting on it. The capillarity is driven by surface tension and adhesive interactions between the liquid and surrounding solid surfaces. This effect is often seen in narrow tubes, porous materials, and fine particles.
Surface tension is crucial to capillarity. It results from cohesive forces between liquid molecules at the liquid-air boundary, forming a skin that resists external forces. When the capillary tube...
Surface tension is crucial to capillarity. It results from cohesive forces between liquid molecules at the liquid-air boundary, forming a skin that resists external forces. When the capillary tube...
418