Issue 33, 2023

Effect of airflow rate and drainage on the properties of 2D smectic liquid crystal foams

Abstract

As a two-phase system, foams are widely applied in the industry and exist ubiquitously in our daily lives. For this reason, studying them and investigating the parameters that affect their properties is crucial for the development of new and improved foam-based products. In this paper, we create 2D foam using an ordered fluid, the smectic liquid crystal (LC), and discuss the experimental parameters that affect their fabrication, including temperature and confining conditions. Then, we examine the influence of the injected airflow rate and drainage on their structure, size, liquid fraction, and stability. Finally, we compare their behavior to that of low-viscosity liquid foams and discuss the difference between them. Our findings indicate that surface tension is the dominant parameter in LC foam systems. Despite the strong elasticity of LCs, surface tension plays a crucial role in determining the properties of elastic foams. These results provide valuable insights that can be applied to different industrial applications. For instance, they may find relevance in the fields of cosmetics, thermal insulation, oil recovery, and sensing, where the fabrication of foams with high-viscosity fluids is required.

Graphical abstract: Effect of airflow rate and drainage on the properties of 2D smectic liquid crystal foams

Supplementary files

Article information

Article type
Paper
Submitted
26 May 2023
Accepted
29 Jul 2023
First published
31 Jul 2023

Soft Matter, 2023,19, 6298-6304

Effect of airflow rate and drainage on the properties of 2D smectic liquid crystal foams

C. Fu, H. Lin, R. N. Nere and M. A. Gharbi, Soft Matter, 2023, 19, 6298 DOI: 10.1039/D3SM00684K

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