ESPCI web site
From strange behavior to catastrophic events : A story of fluid migration in particle-laden fluids
"Work on problems you most enjoy. Strange things can happen on the way." This sentence from Walter Munk, world-renowned oceanographer (UCSD), may apply for all fields of science. In this talk, we will see that it is definitely true when working with fluid injection and migration in particle-laden fluids. Based on laboratory experiments, we investigate the dynamics of a confined granular layer submitted to a localized fluid injection. A suspension results from the competition between particle entrainment and sedimentation. In a given range of parameters and for different experimental configurations, the system exhibits puzzling self-induced oscillations and/or unexpected violent particle resuspension. These curiosities at the laboratory scale may have a crucial importance in geophysical and environmental applications.