Description du sujet de thèse

Drainage and bursting of suspended films of liquid mixtures : A model system to study bubble coalescence

Contexte de travail

The doctoral student will conduct experimental research within the laboratory.SIMM at ESPCI Paris. He will be enrolled in ED397 Physics and Chemistry of Materials at Paris Sciences et Lettres University. His work will be part of the ANR ColiFlow project “A model system for understanding coalescence and its consequence on gas-liquid flows” in collaboration with the PMMH laboratory at ESPCI Paris and the SVI CNRS/Saint Gobain Aubervilliers laboratory. The experimental results obtained during the thesis will be compared with the numerical results obtained from solving the equations describing the drainage of suspended films and carried out at the PPMH. Thus, the geometric parameters of the chips and the physicochemical characteristics of the mixtures used in the experiments will be directly implemented in the simulations to enable a quantitative comparison.

Contraintes et risques

The experiments will initially be conducted on existing experimental devices, so as to validat the design of new microfluidic chips, and on oil mixtures that have already been characterized in the laboratory. The main risk is related to the short lifespan of the films suspended in the oil mixtures, which requires rapid and precise adjustment of the pressures in the microfluidic chip and the use of high-speed cameras operating at kHz frequencies, meaning that the experimenter must first undergo training. As with any interfacial phenomenon in contact with air, contamination must be minimized. To this end, oil mixtures with low surface tension will be preferred over aqueous solutions. Consequently, the experiments will be conducted in fume hoods and closed chambers to limit evaporation and ensure the chemical safety of the experimenter, as we have in the laboratory.