Dr. Katharine E. Jensen of Williams College will present a talk on transitions in leaking fluid and topics related to the wetting and adhesion of soft materials.
Small fluid leaks are common — and frequently troublesome. We often consider how to stop a leak, but here we ask a different question: how might a leak stop itself? We use simple experiments and high-speed imaging to study flow transitions in leaking fluid flows from jetting to dribbling to spontaneous arrest. It turns out that a self-stopping leak behaves as a “damp” harmonic oscillator, and we can understand the process of spontaneous arrest with an energetic analysis that depends on the leak geometry, driving pressure, surface tension, and wettability of the leaky tube. More generally, our research lab studies a variety of topics related to wetting and adhesion of soft materials. Many of the same ideas that we use to understand how a leak can stop itself are also relevant to understanding how sticky stuff sticks and stays stuck — and I’ll tell you about that too!
Join us on Friday, March 25, from 12 - 1 p.m. to hear the presentation. A takeaway lunch will be available in Hayes 201 before the meeting at 11:50. We hope to see you then!