Related papers: Soil granular dynamics on-a-chip: fluidization inc…
The transport of solid particles by a fluid flow is frequently found in nature and industry. Some examples are the transport of sand in rivers and hydrocarbon pipelines. When the shear stresses exerted by a fluid flow on a granular bed…
A mesoscopic continuum model is employed to analyse the transport mechanisms and structure formation during the redistribution stage of deposition experiments where organic molecules are deposited on a solid substrate with periodic…
We investigate erosion patterns observed in a horizontal granular bed resulting from seepage of water motivated by observation of beach rills and channel growth in larger scale landforms. Our experimental apparatus consists of a wide…
Patterns are quotidian in nature. Distinct multiscale patterns are generally a consequence of nonequilibrium dynamical processes associated with mechanical or hydrodynamic instabilities. In this thesis, I report experimental investigations…
We study the time evolution and driven motion of thin liquid films lying on top of chemical patterns on a substrate. Lattice-Boltzmann and molecular dynamics methods are used for simulations of the flow of microscopic and nanoscopic films,…
Particle beams are important tools for probing atomic and molecular interactions. Here we demonstrate that particle beams also offer a unique opportunity to investigate interactions in macroscopic systems, such as granular media. Motivated…
When a granular bed is sheared by a fluid that flows above a critical limit, it undergoes a complex motion that varies along time: it can contain fluid- (bedload) and solid-like (creep) regions, being prone to strain hardening and, in case…
We review a few representative examples of granular experiments or models where phase separation, accompanied by domain coarsening, is a relevant phenomenon. We first elucidate the intrinsic non-equilibrium, or athermal, nature of granular…
We study fully three-dimensional droplets that slide down an incline by employing a thin-film equation that accounts for capillarity, wettability, and a lateral driving force in small-gradient (or long-wave) approximation. In particular, we…
We simulate the granulation process of solid spherical particles in the presence of a viscous liquid in a horizontal rotating drum by using molecular dynamics simulations in three dimensions. The numerical approach accounts for the cohesive…
Erosion shapes our landscape and occurs when a sufficient shear stress is exerted by a fluid on a sedimented layer. What controls erosion at a microscopic level remains debated, especially near the threshold forcing where it stops. Here we…
A new method of particle size analysis of micrometer-sized particles is discussed. The improved method of sedimentation analysis with magnetic fluids has the potential and versatility to characterize polydisperse systems.
Gravity-driven flows of granular matter are involved in a wide variety of situations, ranging from industrial processes to geophysical phenomena, such as avalanches or landslides. These flows are characterized by the coexistence of solid…
Early sedimentation in a liquid mixture off-critically quenched in its miscibility gap was investigated with a light attenuation technique. The time evolution of the droplets distribution is characteristic of an emulsion coalescing by…
We investigate the down-hill creep of a layer of granular material on a slope caused by an oscillatory variation of the size of the particles. The material is modeled as an athermal two dimensional polydisperse system of soft disks under…
Microbial-Induced Carbonate Precipitation (MICP) is an innovative ground improvement technique which can enhance the strength and stiffness of soils, and can also control their hydraulic conductivity. These engineering properties of…
Employing a long-wave mesoscopic hydrodynamic model for the film height evolution we study ensembles of pinned and sliding drops of a volatile liquid that continuously condense onto a chemically heterogeneous inclined substrate. Our…
The study of interactions between biomimetic membranes and micron-sized particles is crucial for understanding various biological processes. Here, we control microparticle spontaneous engulfment by giant lipid vesicles by tuning particle…
Unstable systems of fluidized grains in a very-narrow vertical tube can auto-defluidize after some time, the settling particles forming either a glass- or crystal-like structure. We carried out experiments using different polymer spheres,…
Periodic fluidization of solids in a gas medium can generate structured bubbling patterns. This phenomenon has been successfully reproduced in fluidized bed systems called pulsed-fluidized beds, known for their efficient mixing and…