Squeezing through: capsule or bubble?

Abstract

In this fluid dynamics video, we compare the deformation of two flexible particles as they propagate through a sudden constriction of a liquid filled channel under constant-flux flow: a gas bubble, and a capsule formed by encapsulating a liquid droplet in a cross-linked polymeric membrane. Both bubble and capsule adopt highly contorted configurations as they squeeze through the constriction, exhibit broadly similar features over a wide range of flow rates, and rupture for sufficiently high flow rates. However, at flow rates prior to rupture, certain features of the deformation allow bubble and capsule to be distinguished: bubbles exhibit a tip-streaming singularity associated with critical thinning of the rear of the bubble, while the capsule membrane wrinkles under large compressive stresses induced by the constriction.