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Experimental Fluid Dynamics
Saffman-Taylor instability in a non-rotating Hele-Shaw apparatus
When a low-viscosity fluid interacts with a high-viscosity fluid, a finger-like structure occurs at the interface, known as the Saffman-Taylor instability or viscous fingering. This type of instability can occur in a porous medium when a less viscous fluid is injected to displace highly viscous fluids, as in the application of water injection into hydrocarbon reservoirs.
Here, the laboratory experiment is conducted in a Hele-Shaw apparatus with a 15cm × 15cm cell. Honey is used as a high-viscosity fluid, and Blue dye (Ujala blue color) is used as a low-viscosity fluid. When they interact, a finger-like structure forms at the interface between two fluids.
Beauty of vortex
A single drop of blue dye in cold water begins as one smooth eddy. As it sinks, it breaks down into smaller and smaller eddies—a well-known phenomenon in fluid dynamics, where a primary vortex cascades into secondary vortices.
A Nikon D5300 DSLR camera is used to capture these snapshots and a action camera (Hero go pro black 10) is used to capture the time evolution of the vortex breaking. Ujjala liquid is used as a blue dye.
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