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We investigate the spontaneous meandering of slender rivulets in Hele-Shaw cells and identify the physical mechanism that selects the most unstable wavenumber, a quantity that has remained elusive even since the identification of the…
We investigate the escape dynamics of oligochaeta {\it Lumbriculus variegatus} by confining them to a quasi-2D circular chamber with a narrow exit passage. The worms move by performing undulatory and peristaltic strokes and use their head…
The dynamics of an organ pipe's mouth region has been studied by numerical simulations. The investigations presented here were carried out by solving the compressible Navier-Stokes equations under suitable initial and boundary conditions…
We present and analyze a theoretical model for the dynamics and interactions of "capillary surfers," which are millimetric objects that self-propel while floating at the interface of a vibrating fluid bath. In our companion paper [1], we…
We present a numerical investigation of the dynamics of one falling oblate ellipsoid particle in a viscous fluid, in three dimensions, using a constrained-force technique \cite{Kai}, \cite{Kaih} and \cite{Esa}. We study the dynamical…
We study in detail the recent suggestions by Tshiprut et al. [Phys. Rev. Lett. 95, 016101 (2005)] to tune tribological properties at the nanoscale by subjecting a substrate to periodic mechanical oscillations. We show that both in…
Many metastable complex fluids such as colloidal glasses and gels show distinct nonlinear viscoelasticity with increasing oscillatory-strain amplitude; the storage modulus decreases monotonically as the strain amplitude increases whereas…
Recent experiments showed that standing acoustic waves could be exploited to induce self-propulsion of rigid metallic particles in the direction perpendicular to the acoustic wave. We propose in this paper a physical mechanism for these…
The capillary traction of a liquid contact line causes highly localized deformations in soft solids, tremendously slowing down wetting and dewetting dynamics by viscoelastic braking. Enforcing nonetheless large velocities leads to the…
Wormlike micelle solutions are submitted to small-amplitude oscillatory shear superimposed to steady shear in the shear banding regime. By imposing a shear oscillation, the interface between high- and low-shear regions oscillates in time. A…
The effects of a driven fast-oscillating spinneret on the bending instability of electrified jets, leading to the formation of spiral structures in electrospinning experiments with charged polymers, are explored by means of extensive…
An essential element in the web-trap architecture, the capture silk spun by ecribellate orb spiders consists of glue droplets sitting astride a silk filament. Mechanically this thread presents a mixed solid-liquid behavior unknown to date.…
The number of splashed fingers generated by a solid projectile's impact onto a viscous liquid layer is experimentally studied. A steel sphere is dropped onto a viscous liquid pool. Then, a fingering instability occurs around the crater's…
A droplet bouncing on the surface of a vibrating liquid bath can move horizontally guided by the wave it produces on impacting the bath. The wave itself is modified by the environment, and thus the interactions of the moving droplet with…
Droplet impact on oscillating substrates is important for both natural and industrial processes. Recognizing the importance of the dynamics that arise from the interplay between droplet transport and substrate motion, in this work, we…
When a drop impacts a deep pool, it forms a crater which subsequently rebounds. Under certain conditions, a dimple forms at the crater bottom, which pinches off to entrap a small bubble. The oscillation of this entrapped bubble is the…
Hummingbirds and insects achieve outstanding flight performance by adapting their flapping motion to the flight requirements. Their wing kinematics can change from smooth flapping to highly dynamic waveforms, generating unsteady aerodynamic…
In this paper, we develop an analytical model to investigate the generation of instability waves triggered by the upstream acoustic forcing near the nozzle lip of a supersonic jet. This represents an important stage, i.e. the jet…
The fluid dynamics video shows rigid, spatially asymmetric bodies interacting with oscillating background flows. A free rigid object, here a hollow "pyramid," can hover quite stably against gravity in the oscillating airflow with a zero…
We experimentally investigate the self-sustained, star-shaped oscillations of Leidenfrost drops. The drops levitate on a cushion of evaporated vapor over a heated, curved surface. We observe modes with $n = 2-13$ lobes around the drop…