Mechanical probing of liquid foam aging

TL;DR

This paper introduces a novel experimental technique to measure local foam properties such as shear modulus, drainage rate, and bubble size evolution in a 3D dry liquid foam using a glass bead probe.

Contribution

It demonstrates a simple, effective method for probing local foam rheology and aging dynamics through force measurements on a plunging sphere.

Findings

Measured foam shear modulus and drainage rate.

Monitored bubble size evolution during coarsening.

Validated the technique as a rheometric tool.

Abstract

We present experimental results on the Stokes experiment performed in a 3D dry liquid foam. The system is used as a rheometric tool : from the force exerted on a 1cm glass bead, plunged at controlled velocity in the foam in a quasi static regime, local foam properties are probed around the sphere. With this original and simple technique, we show the possibility of measuring the foam shear modulus, the gravity drainage rate and the evolution of the bubble size during coarsening.