We analyze the effect of precipitate formation on the development of density induced hydrodynamic instabilities. In this case, the precipitate is BaCO, obtained by reaction of CO with aqueous BaCl. CO(g) dissolution increases the local density of the aqueous phase, triggering Rayleigh-Taylor instabilities and BaCO formation. It was observed that at first the precipitate was formed at the finger front. As the particles became bigger, they began to fall down from the front. These particles were used as tracers using PIV technique to visualize the particle streamlines and to obtain the velocity of that movement. This falling produced a downward flow that might increase the mixing zone. Contrary to expectations, it was observed that the finger length decreased, indicating that for the mixing zone development, the consumption of CO to form the precipitate is more important than the downward flow. The mixing zone length was recovered by increasing the availability of the reactant (higher CO partial pressure), compensating the CO used for BaCO formation. Mixing zone development rates reached constant values at shorter times when the precipitate is absent than when it is present. An analysis of the nonlinear regime with and without the precipitate is performed.

Numerical simulations were performed for Rayleigh-Taylor (RT) hydrodynamic instabilities when a frontier is present. The frontier formed by the interface between two fluids prevents the free movement of the fingers created by the instability. As a consequence, transversal movements at the rear of the fingers are observed in this area. These movements produce collapse of the fingers (two or more fingers join in one finger) or oscillations in the case that there is no collapse. The transversal velocity of the fingers, the amplitude of the oscillations, and the wave number of the RT instabilities as a function of the Rayleigh number (Ra) were studied near the frontier. We verified numerically that in classical RT instabilities, without a frontier, these lateral movements do not occur; only with a physical frontier, the transversal displacements of the fingers appear. The transverse displacement velocity and the initial wave number increase with Ra. This leads to the collapse of the fingers, diminishing the wave number of the instabilities at the interface. Instead, no significant changes in the amplitude of the oscillations are observed modifying Ra. The numerical results are independent of the type or origin of the frontier (gas-liquid, liquid-liquid, or solid-liquid). The numerical results are in good agreement with the experimental results reported by Binda et al. [Chaos 28, 013107 (2018)]. Based on these results, it was possible to determine the cause of the transverse displacements, which had not been explained until now.

Lateral movements of the fingers in Rayleigh-Taylor hydrodynamic instabilities at the interface between two fluids are studied. We show that transverse movements appear when a physical boundary is present; these phenomena have not been explained until now. The boundary prevents one of the fluids from crossing it. Such frontiers can be buoyancy driven as, for example, the frontier to the passage of a less dense solution through a denser solution or when different aggregation states coexist (liquid and gaseous phases). An experimental study of the lateral movement velocity of the fingers was performed for different Rayleigh numbers (Ra), and when oscillations were detected, their amplitudes were studied. Liquid-liquid (L-L) and gas-liquid (G-L) systems were analysed. Aqueous HCl and Bromocresol Green (sodium salt, NaBCG) solutions were used in L-L experiments, and CO (gas) and aqueous NaOH, NaHCO, and CaCl solutions were employed for the G-L studies. We observed that the lateral movement of the fingers and finger collapses near the interface are more notorious when Ra increases. The consequences of this, for each experience, are a decrease in the number of fingers and an increase in the velocity of the lateral finger movement close to the interface as time evolves. We found that the amplitude of the oscillations did not vary significantly within the considered Ra range. These results have an important implication when determining the wave number of instabilities in an evolving system. The wave number could be strongly diminished if there is a boundary.

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The growth dynamics of polyacrylamide hydrogel beads due to liquid absorption under geometric confinement is studied. First, the behavior of individual hydrogel beads is investigated and, subsequently, the growth dynamics is analyzed in the presence of several interacting beads of the same material. In both, individual and collective studies, the magnitude of the geometric confinement is varied, in order to investigate the effect that the stress applied on the particles has on their hydration kinetics.

The aim of this work is to explore the capability of the µ(I)-rheology model and its numerical implementation in addressing a silo discharge problem by computational simulation. In order to do so, the model was implemented in the general structure of an Eulerian multiphase solver based on the Volume-Of-Fluid (VOF) method of the OpenFOAM(R) suite. First, the implementation is validated against the results of another Lagrangian and Eulerian codes in a two-dimensional discharge problem. After that, the model is tested against the experimental results of a lab-scale and industrial-scale discharge problem. While the results of the first one were satisfactory in terms of discharge rate, for the latter one, the model exhibits disagreements in the flow patterns inside the silo. The study shows the limits of applicability of the standard formulation of the model for real scale silos and sets the ground for further discussion and improvements.

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