Fingering and pressure distribution in lifting Hele-Shaw cells with grooves: A computer simulation study

Phys Rev E Stat Nonlin Soft Matter Phys. 2009 Aug;80(2 Pt 2):026315. doi: 10.1103/PhysRevE.80.026315. Epub 2009 Aug 26.

Abstract

We report a computer simulation study of viscous fingering patterns in a lifting Hele-Shaw cell with grooves. Here circular or square grooves concentric to the plates are etched on the lower plate. Experiments show that the presence of such grooves affect formation of viscous fingers quite strongly. We report a simulated pressure map generated in such grooved cells, when the two plates are separated with a constant force and compare the patterns with experiments. Variation in the simulated patterns for different fluid viscosity and lifting force is also studied.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't