Morphological transitions of droplets wetting rectangular domains.

We report the results of comprehensive experiments and numerical calculations of interfacial morphologies of water confined to the hydrophilic top face of rectangular posts of width W = 500 µm and lengths between L = 5W and 30W. A continuous evolution of the interfacial shape from a homogeneous liquid filament to a bulged filament and back is observed during changes in the liquid volume. Above a certain threshold length of L* = 16.0W, the transition between the two morphologies is discontinuous and a bistability of interfacial shapes is observed in a certain interval of the reduced liquid volume V/W(3).

Tailoring the wetting properties of thiolene microfluidic materials.

A post functionalization method for the control of the wettability of thiolene resins of the NOA family is presented. Treatment of open model surfaces or closed microchannels with chlorosilane derivatives resulted in dramatic changes in the behaviour of droplets and streams contacting the surfaces. The experimental findings are confirmed by the fabrication of a Y-junction device that works as a passive valve for water streams.

Convective instabilities in horizontally propagating vertical chemical fronts.

The effect of convection on horizontally propagating fronts arising in the acid-catalyzed reaction of chlorite and tetrathionate ions is investigated experimentally in vertically oriented narrow reaction vessels of various heights. A stable finger develops which can be characterized by its mixing length defined as the standard deviation of the average front profile. The mixing length scales with the height of the reaction vessel, and the scaling law has been determined for three different chemical compositions.

Scaling law of stable single cells in density fingering of chemical fronts.

Stable single fingers evolving in a thin layer of hydrodynamically unstable reactive solution are investigated in moderately wide Hele-Shaw cells. The mixing length associated with the final pattern is shown to be proportional to the width of the container. The scaling law, which is best illustrated by the overlay of temporal average front profiles, is demonstrated for two chemical compositions and boundaries of different thermal conductances. The observed single finger is found to be independent of the orientation of the reaction vessel for a wide range of tilt angles.

Density fingering in spatially modulated Hele-Shaw cells.

Density fingering of the chlorite-tetrathionate reaction has been studied experimentally in a periodically heterogeneous Hele-Shaw cell where the heterogeneity is introduced in the form of spatial modulation of gap width along the front. Depending on the spatial wavelength, gap width, and chemical composition, three types of cellular structures have been observed. The initial evolution is characterized by dispersion curves, while the long time behavior is described by the change in the autocorrelation function of the front profile and in the mixing length of the patterns.