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Periodical patterns (bands) developing at the interface of two immiscible fluids under vibration parallel to interface are observed under zero-gravity conditions. Fluids are slightly below their liquid-vapor critical point where they behave in a scaled, universal manner. In addition, liquid and vapor densities are close and surface tension is very low. Linear stability analyses and direct numerical simulation show that this instability, although comparable to the frozen wave instability observed in a gravity field, is nonetheless noticeably different when gravity becomes zero. In particular, the neutral curve minimum corresponds to the long-wave perturbations with k=0 and zero dimensionless vibrational parameter, corresponding to no instability threshold. The pattern wavelength thus corresponds to the wavelength of the perturbations with maximal growth rate. This wavelength differs substantially from the neutral perturbations wavelength at the same vibrational parameter value. The role of viscosity is highlighted in the pattern formation, with a critical wavelength dependence on vibration parameters that strongly depends on viscosity. These results compare well with experimental observations performed in the liquid-vapor phases near the critical point of CO_{2} (in weightlessness) and H_{2} (under magnetic levitation).

Light transmission measurements performed in SF 6 close to its liquidgas critical point are used to obtain turbidity data in the reduced temperature rangeAutomatic experiments (ALICE 2 facility) were made at a near critical density, i.e., ρ −ρ c ρ c = 0.8 %, in the one-phase homogeneous region, under the microgravity environment of the Mir Space Station ( ρ is the average density, ρ c is the critical density). The turbidity data analysis verifies the theoretical crossover formulations for the isothermal compressibility κ T and the correlation length ξ . These latter formulations are also used to analyze very near T c thermal diffusivity data obtained under microgravity conditions by Wilkinson et al. (Phys. Rev. E 57, 436, 1998).

In order to investigate at the pore scale the mechanisms involved during CO2 injection in a water saturated pore network, a series of displacement experiments is reported using high pressure micromodels (geological labs on chip - GLoCs) working under real geological conditions (25 < T (°C) < 75 and 4.5 < p (MPa) < 8). The experiments were focused on the influence of three experimental parameters: (i) the p, T conditions, (ii) the injection flow rates and (iii) the pore network characteristics. By using on-chip optical characterization and imaging approaches, the CO2 saturation curves as a function of either time or the number of pore volume injected were determined. Three main mechanisms were observed during CO2 injection, namely, invasion, percolation and drying, which are discussed in this paper. Interestingly, besides conventional mechanisms, two counterintuitive situations were observed during the invasion and drying processes.

A new experimental facility has been designed and constructed to study driven granular media in a low-gravity environment. This versatile instrument, fully automatized, with a modular design based on several interchangeable experimental cells, allows us to investigate research topics ranging from dilute to dense regimes of granular media such as granular gas, segregation, convection, sound propagation, jamming, and rheology-all without the disturbance by gravitational stresses active on Earth. Here, we present the main parameters, protocols, and performance characteristics of the instrument. The current scientific objectives are then briefly described and, as a proof of concept, some first selected results obtained in low gravity during parabolic flight campaigns are presented.

The turbidity (τ ) measurements of Güttinger and Cannell (Phys Rev A 24:3188-3201, 1981) in the temperature range 28 mK ≤ T − T c ≤ 29 K along the critical isochore of homogeneous xenon are reanalyzed. The singular behaviors of the isothermal compressibility (κ T ) and the correlation length (ξ ) predicted from the master crossover functions are introduced in the turbidity functional form derived by Puglielli and Ford (Phys Rev Lett 25:143-146, 1970). We show that the turbidity data are thus well represented by the Ornstein-Zernike approximant, within 1 % precision. We also introduce a new crossover master model (CMM) of the parametric equation of state for a simple fluid system with no adjustable parameter. The CMM model and the phenomenological crossover parametric model are compared with the turbidity data and the coexisting liquid-gas density difference ( ρ LV ). The excellent agreement observed for τ , κ T , ξ , and ρ LV in a finite temperature range well beyond the Ising-like preasymptotic domain confirms that the Ising-like critical crossover behavior of xenon can be described in conformity with the universal features estimated by the renormalization-group methods. Only 4 critical coordinates of the vapor-liquid Y. Garrabos · C. Lecoutre · S. Marre · R. Guillaument CNRS, ICMCB-ESEME, UPR 9048,

A successful implementation of in situ X-ray scattering analysis of synthetized particle materials in silicon/glass microreactors is reported. Calcium carbonate (CaCO3) as a model material was precipitated inside the microchannels through the counter-injection of two aqueous solutions, containing carbonate ions and calcium ions, respectively. The synthesized calcite particles were analyzed in situ in aqueous media by combining Small Angle X-ray Scattering (SAXS) and Wide Angle X-ray Scattering (WAXS) techniques at the ESRF ID02 beam line. At high wavevector transfer, WAXS patterns clearly exhibit different scattering features: broad scattering signals originating from the solvent and the glass lid of the chip, and narrow diffraction peaks coming from CaCO3 particles precipitated rapidly inside the microchannel. At low wavevector transfer, SAXS reveals the rhombohedral morphology of the calcite particles together with their micrometer size without any strong background, neither from the chip nor from the water. This study demonstrates that silicon/glass chips are potentially powerful tools for in situ SAXS/WAXS analysis and are promising for studying the structure and morphology of materials in non-conventional conditions like geological materials under high pressure and high temperature.