# Kinetics of coarsening have dramatic effects on the microstructure: self-similarity breakdown induced by viscosity contrast

## TL;DR

This paper investigates how viscosity contrast affects the coarsening process in phase-separated mixtures, revealing that increased contrast can break the self-similar microstructure and alter phase connectivity.

## Contribution

It provides new insights into the effects of viscosity contrast on the microstructure evolution and identifies conditions leading to self-similarity breakdown during viscous coarsening.

## Key findings

- Self-similar regime is robust for moderate viscosity contrasts.
- Connectivity decreases as phase volume fraction or viscosity contrast changes.
- Self-similarity breakdown occurs under certain viscosity contrast conditions.

## Abstract

The viscous coarsening of a phase separated mixture is studied and the effects of the viscosity contrast between the phases are investigated. From an analysis of the microstructure, it appears that for moderate departure from the perfectly symmetric regime the self-similar bicontinuous regime is robust. However, the connectivity of one phase decreases when its volume fraction decreases or when it is becoming less viscous than the complementary phase. Eventually self-similarity breakdown is observed and characterized.