Foaming dynamics in Hele-Shaw cells

Phys Rev E Stat Nonlin Soft Matter Phys. 2006 Jun;73(6 Pt 2):065301. doi: 10.1103/PhysRevE.73.065301. Epub 2006 Jun 1.

Abstract

We have studied foaming dynamics in Hele-Shaw cells partially filled with a soap and water mixture. A series of upside-down flips produces an intermittent wetting of the cell and leads to foam formation. As a function of the number of flips, an increasing number of bubbles composes the foam, until saturation is observed. Statistical analysis shows that the bubble size follows a Gamma distribution. Contrary to common belief, this foaming dynamics by "shaking" creates homogeneous foam, even though the system may pass through transient heterogeneous configurations. A mechanistic interpretation is proposed and included into a theoretical model.