Foam Optics and Mechanics (FOAM)

Principal Investigator: Douglas Durian, UCLA
Project Scientist: Padetha Tin, Glenn Research Center
Project Manager: Joe Balombin, Glenn Research Center

Currently scheduled to be launched: Flight #UF-5 - Date 04/2006

Why:
To understand the relationship between microscopic bubble motion and the macroscopic mechanical properties of foams:
Bubble rearrangements due to coarsening and/or shear affect the macroscopic mechanical response of foams.
Very wet foams act like a simple liquid. Microgravity will enable the study of wet foams, and the loss of rigidity as the liquid content is increased.

How:
Use light-scattering techniques to quantify bubble-scale dynamics. Rheology measurements (stress vs. strain) will provide data on the macroscopic mechanical properties of the foam.
Simultaneous light scattering and rheology measurements, also as a function of liquid content, will provide fundamental information regarding foam dynamics.

Foams consist of a hierarchy of length scales. It is believed that the macroscopic, bulk properties of aqueous foams can be related to the microscopic motion that is constantly taking place at smaller scales.

Impact/Benefits:
We rely on foam products for safety (fire extinguishers) and comfort (seat cushions, shaving cream, etc.) Benefits include improved consumer products and new lightweight materials.
Industrial applications of foams: firefighting, isolating toxic materials, oil recovery, chemical separation.
Water-based foams share properties of solids, liquids, and gases... all-in-one.

Foam Optics and Mechanics (FOAM)

Next Flight Experiment: Low-Volume Fraction Entropically-Driven Colloidal Assembly

Return to the Fluid Physics Research Page

Fluid Physics Web Site Contact Page
Page Last Updated 7/22/02 by Jennifer Yost