The science of foaming

Wiebke Drenckhan (1) , Arnaud Saint-Jalmes (2)

1 LPS - Laboratoire de Physique des Solides
2 IPR - Institut de Physique de Rennes

The generation of liquid foams is at the heart of numerous natural, technical or scientific processes. Even though the subject of foam generation has a long-standing history, many recent progresses have been made in an attempt to elucidate the fundamental processes at play. We review the subject by providing an overview of the relevant key mechanisms of bubble generation within a coherent hydrodynamic context; and we discuss different foaming techniques which exploit these mechanisms.

Mots clés: Foaming; Liquid foam; Bubble generation; Gas/liquid interface; Foaming techniques; Bubble size distribution

Domaines: Physique [physics]; Matière Molle [cond-mat.soft]

Wiebke Drenckhan, Arnaud Saint-Jalmes. The science of foaming. Advances in Colloid and Interface Science, 2015, 222, pp.228-259. ⟨10.1016/j.cis.2015.04.001⟩. ⟨hal-01230234⟩