Shift of the Critical Mixing Temperature in Strong Electric Fields. Theory and Experiment

2014 ◽  
Vol 118 (25) ◽  
pp. 7187-7194 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kazimierz Orzechowski ◽  
Mariusz Adamczyk ◽  
Alicja Wolny ◽  
Yoav Tsori
2002 ◽  
Vol 452 ◽  
pp. 163-187 ◽  
Author(s):  
C. L. BURCHAM ◽  
D. A. SAVILLE

A liquid bridge is a column of liquid, pinned at each end. Here we analyse the stability of a bridge pinned between planar electrodes held at different potentials and surrounded by a non-conducting, dielectric gas. In the absence of electric fields, surface tension destabilizes bridges with aspect ratios (length/diameter) greater than π. Here we describe how electrical forces counteract surface tension, using a linearized model. When the liquid is treated as an Ohmic conductor, the specific conductivity level is irrelevant and only the dielectric properties of the bridge and the surrounding gas are involved. Fourier series and a biharmonic, biorthogonal set of Papkovich–Fadle functions are used to formulate an eigenvalue problem. Numerical solutions disclose that the most unstable axisymmetric deformation is antisymmetric with respect to the bridge’s midplane. It is shown that whilst a bridge whose length exceeds its circumference may be unstable, a sufficiently strong axial field provides stability if the dielectric constant of the bridge exceeds that of the surrounding fluid. Conversely, a field destabilizes a bridge whose dielectric constant is lower than that of its surroundings, even when its aspect ratio is less than π. Bridge behaviour is sensitive to the presence of conduction along the surface and much higher fields are required for stability when surface transport is present. The theoretical results are compared with experimental work (Burcham & Saville 2000) that demonstrated how a field stabilizes an otherwise unstable configuration. According to the experiments, the bridge undergoes two asymmetric transitions (cylinder-to-amphora and pinch-off) as the field is reduced. Agreement between theory and experiment for the field strength at the pinch-off transition is excellent, but less so for the change from cylinder to amphora. Using surface conductivity as an adjustable parameter brings theory and experiment into agreement.


2000 ◽  
Vol 91 (5) ◽  
pp. 945-951 ◽  
Author(s):  
S. V. Bulyarskii ◽  
N. S. Grushko ◽  
A. V. Zhukov

2016 ◽  
Vol 788 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ehud Yariv ◽  
Itzchak Frankel

When subject to sufficiently strong electric fields, particles and drops suspended in a weakly conducting liquid exhibit spontaneous rotary motion. This so-called Quincke rotation is a fascinating example of nonlinear symmetry-breaking phenomena. To illuminate the rotation of liquid drops we here analyse the asymptotic limit of large electric Reynolds numbers, $\mathit{Re}\gg 1$, within the framework of a two-dimensional Taylor–Melcher electrohydrodynamic model. A non-trivial dominant balance in this singular limit results in both the fluid velocity and surface-charge density scaling as $\mathit{Re}^{-1/2}$. The flow is governed by a self-contained nonlinear boundary-value problem that does not admit a continuous fore–aft symmetric solution, thus necessitating drop rotation. Furthermore, thermodynamic arguments reveal that a fore–aft asymmetric solution exists only when charge relaxation within the suspending liquid is faster than that in the drop. The flow problem possesses both mirror-image (with respect to the direction of the external field) and flow-reversal symmetries; it is transformed into a universal one, independent of the ratios of electric conductivities and dielectric permittivities in the respective drop phase and suspending liquid phase. The rescaled angular velocity is found to depend weakly upon the viscosity ratio. The corresponding numerical solutions of the exact equations indeed collapse at large $\mathit{Re}$ upon the asymptotically calculated universal solution.


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