Coupling of elasticity to capillarity in soft aerated materials

We study the elastic properties of soft solids containing air bubbles. Contrary to standard porous materials, the softness of the matrix allows for a coupling of the matrix elasticity to surface tension forces acting on the bubble surface. Thanks to appropriate experiments on model systems, we demon...

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Bibliographic Details
Published inSoft matter Vol. 1; no. 28; pp. 593 - 598
Main Authors Ducloué, Lucie, Pitois, Olivier, Goyon, Julie, Chateau, Xavier, Ovarlez, Guillaume
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published England Royal Society of Chemistry 28.07.2014
Subjects
Air bubbles
Bubbles
Capillarity
Capillary Action
Colloids - chemistry
Condensed Matter
Elasticity
Joining
Mathematical models
Models, Chemical
Physics
Porosity
Porous materials
Soft Condensed Matter
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Summary:We study the elastic properties of soft solids containing air bubbles. Contrary to standard porous materials, the softness of the matrix allows for a coupling of the matrix elasticity to surface tension forces acting on the bubble surface. Thanks to appropriate experiments on model systems, we demonstrate how the elastic response of the soft porous solid is governed by two dimensionless parameters: the gas volume fraction and a capillary number comparing the elasticity of the matrix with the stiffness of the bubbles. Furthermore, we show that our experimental results are accurately predicted by computations of the shear modulus through a micro-mechanical approach. The elastic modulus of soft aerated materials is governed by the gas volume fraction and the competition between the matrix elasticity and capillary forces, quantified by a capillary number.
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ISSN:1744-683X
1744-6848
DOI:10.1039/c4sm00200h