# Interface dynamics in Hele-Shaw flows with centrifugal forces. Preventing cusp singularities with rotation

## Abstract

A class of exact solutions of Hele-Shaw flows without surface tension in a rotating cell is reported. We show that the interplay between injection and rotation modifies drastically the scenario of formation of finite-time cusp singularities. For a subclass of solutions, we show that, for any given initial condition, there exists a critical rotation rate above which cusp formation is prevented. We also find an exact sufficient condition to avoid cusps simultaneously for all initial conditions. This condition admits a simple interpretation related to the linear stability problem.

PACS number(s): 47.20.Hw, 47.20.Ma, 47.15.Hg, 68.10.-m

The dynamics of the interface between viscous fluids confined in a Hele-Shaw cell has received attention for several decades from physicists, mathematicians and engineers. In particular it has played a central role in the context of interfacial pattern formation. As a free boundary problem it has the particular interest that explicit time-dependent solutions can often be found in the case with no surface tension. As a consequence, the issue of the role of surface tension as a singular perturbation in the interface dynamics has received increasing attention  for its potential relevance to a broad class of problems. However, to what extent the physics of the real problem (with finite surface tension) is captured, even at a qualitative level, by the known solutions is still poorly understood.

As an initial-value problem, the zero surface tension case is known to be ill-posed. An important aspect related to this fact is that some smooth initial conditions develop finite-time singularities in the form of cusps of the interface. After this blow-up of the solution, the time evolution is no longer defined. Generation of finite-time singularities is in itself interesting in connection with other singular perturbation problems in fluid dynamics, such as in the case of the Euler equations. In the present problem, surface tension acts as the natural regulator curing this singular behavior, but unfortunately the problem with surface tension is much more difficult and usually defies the analytical treatment. Motivated by this fact, and inspired by recent experiments on rotating Hele-Shaw cells, we address here the ’perturbation’ of the original free boundary problem by the presence of a centrifugal field. This new ingredient enriches the problem in a nontrivial way but, as we will see, it still admits explicit solutions, and may thus lead to new analytical insights, both in understanding the generation of finite-time singularities, and in elucidating the dynamical mechanisms of Laplacian growth with and without surface tension. In fact, although the new dimensionless parameter introduced by rotation does not fully regularize the problem, we show that it may prevent the occurrence of finite-time singularities, allowing for smooth, nonsingular solutions for the entire time evolution. This fact alone enlarges the class of (nontrivial) exact solutions without surface tension which are potentially relevant to the physically realizable situations.

We study an interface between a fluid with viscosity $`\mu `$ and density $`\rho `$ and one with zero viscosity and zero density in a Hele-Shaw cell with gap $`b`$. The cell can be put in rotation with angular velocity $`\mathrm{\Omega }`$ and fluid can be injected or sucked out of the cell through a hole at the center of rotation, with areal rate $`Q`$. The cases $`Q>0`$ and $`Q<0`$ correspond respectively to injecting or sucking fluid. As in the traditional Hele-Shaw problem, the flow in the viscous fluid is potential, $`𝐯=\varphi `$, but now with a velocity potential given by 

$`\varphi ={\displaystyle \frac{b^2}{12\mu }}\left(p{\displaystyle \frac{1}{2}}\rho \mathrm{\Omega }^2r^2\right).`$ (1)   
Incompressibility then yields Laplace equation $`^2\varphi =0`$ for the field $`\varphi `$ (but not for the pressure). The two boundary conditions at the interface which complete the definition of the moving boundary problem are the usual ones, namely, the pressure on the viscous side of the interface $`p=\sigma \kappa `$, where $`\sigma `$ and $`\kappa `$ are respectively surface tension and curvature, and the continuity condition for the normal velocity $`v_n=𝐧\varphi `$. The crucial difference from the usual case is in the boundary condition satisfied by the laplacian field on the interface due to the last term in Eq.(1).

This problem is well suited to conformal mapping techniques . The basic idea is to find an evolution equation for an analytical function $`z=f(\omega ,t)`$, which maps a reference region in the complex plane $`\omega `$, in our case the unit disk $`|\omega |1`$, into the physical region occupied by the fluid in the physical plane $`z=x+iy`$, with the physical interface being the image of the region boundary, $`|\omega |=1`$. We consider two types of situations, one in which the viscous fluid is inside the region enclosed by the interface, and one in which it is outside. It can be shown that the evolution equation for the mapping $`f(\omega ,t)`$ in the rotating case can be written in a compact form as

$`\mathrm{Im}\{_tf^{}_\varphi f\}={\displaystyle \frac{Q}{2\pi }}\vartheta +{\displaystyle \frac{1}{2}}\mathrm{\Omega }^{}_\varphi \mathrm{H}_\varphi [|f|^2]+d_0_\varphi \mathrm{H}_\varphi [\kappa ],`$ (2)   
where $`\mathrm{\Omega }^{}=b^2\mathrm{\Omega }^2\rho /12\mu `$, $`d_0=b^2\sigma /12\mu `$, and where we have specified the mapping function at the unit circle $`\omega =e^{i\varphi }`$. The curvature is given by $`\kappa =\mathrm{Im}\{_\varphi ^2f/(_\varphi f|_\varphi f|)\}`$ and the Hilbert transform $`H_\varphi `$ is defined by

$`\mathrm{H}_\varphi [g]={\displaystyle \frac{1}{2\pi }}\mathrm{P}{\displaystyle _0^{2\pi }}g(\theta )\mathrm{cotg}\left[{\displaystyle \frac{1}{2}}(\varphi \theta )\right]𝑑\theta .`$ (3)   
In Eq.(2), $`\vartheta =+1`$ and $`\vartheta =1`$ correspond to the cases with the viscous fluid respectively inside or outside the interface.

Explicit time-dependent solutions of Eq.(2) are known only for the case $`d_0=0`$ and $`\mathrm{\Omega }^{}=0`$. Here we report explicit solutions for $`\mathrm{\Omega }^{}0`$. A class of solutions in this context is defined by a functional form of the mapping (with a finite number of parameters) which is preserved by the time evolution. The problem is then reduced to a set of nonlinear ODE’s for those parameters. All solutions we have found fit into the general class of the rational form

$`f(\omega ,t)=\omega ^\vartheta {\displaystyle \frac{a_0(t)+_{j=1}^Na_j(t)\omega ^j}{1+_{j=1}^Nb_j(t)\omega ^j}},`$ (4)   
although not any mapping of this form is necessarily a solution. A more detailed study will be presented elsewhere. The general structure Eq.(4) is known to yield explicit solutions also in the nonrotating case (with different ODE’s for the parameters). However, some important classes of solutions of the usual case ($`\mathrm{\Omega }^{}=0`$) are no longer so for $`\mathrm{\Omega }^{}0`$. This is the case for instance of the superposition of a finite number of logarithmic terms  (sometimes referred to as simple pole solutions, when considering the derivative of the mapping rather than the mapping itself). These solutions have the interesting feature of being free of finite-time singularities. On the contrary, the ’multiple-pole’ case (for the derivative of the mapping) turns out to include solutions for both $`\mathrm{\Omega }^{}=0`$ and $`\mathrm{\Omega }^{}0`$ . Finally, for the polynomial case ($`b_j=0`$ for all $`j`$’s), the nonrotating case $`\mathrm{\Omega }^{}=0`$ is known to always yield finite-time singularities in the form of cusps. We will see in the rest of this paper that this scenario is modified in a nontrivial way by the presence of rotation.

We focus on the role of rotation in preventing cusp formation in the subclass of polynomial mappings of the form

$`f(\omega ,t)=a_0(t)\omega ^\vartheta +a_n(t)\omega ^{n+\vartheta }.`$ (5)   
For $`a_na_0`$ this describes a $`n`$-fold sinusoidal perturbation of amplitude $`a_n`$ superimposed on a circular interface of radius $`a_0`$. It is convenient to introduce the dimensionless parameter $`\epsilon =(n+\vartheta )a_n/a_0`$. The range of physically acceptable values of $`a_n`$ and $`a_0`$ is given by the condition $`0<\epsilon <1`$ for all $`n`$. We also introduce a scaled mode amplitude $`\delta =a_0a_n`$ which turns out to be the relevant one to characterize the interface instability. To see this, let us first compute the standard linear growth rate. Inserting Eq.(5) into Eq.(2) and linearizing in $`a_n`$, we get,

$`{\displaystyle \frac{\dot{a}_n}{a_n}}=\vartheta n\mathrm{\Omega }^{}(\vartheta n+1){\displaystyle \frac{Q}{2\pi a_0^2}}{\displaystyle \frac{d_0}{a_0^3}}n(n^21).`$ (6)   
The term $`Q/2\pi a_0^2`$, independent of both $`n`$ and $`\vartheta `$, has a purely kinematic origin, associated to the global expansion (or contraction) of the system. It can easily be shown that this quantity would be the growth rate of a mode corresponding to a redistribution of area given by the undistorted flow field with radial velocity $`v=Q/2\pi r`$. This in turn would imply $`a_n(t)a_0(t)=const`$. Accordingly, the marginal modes for $`\delta `$ (which in the rotating case may occur for all $`n`$) will be such that the flow field is undistorted by the interface perturbation, although such perturbation may grow or decay in the original variables $`a_n`$. Analogously, growth or decay of $`\delta `$ will correspond unambiguously to the stability properties of the actual velocity field. In this sense it may be justified to qualify the interface instability as described by $`\delta `$ as ’intrinsic’, as opposed to the ’morphological’ one as described by the amplitude $`a_n`$. In this way the intrinsic growth rate takes the simpler form

$`{\displaystyle \frac{\dot{\delta }}{\delta }}=\vartheta n\left(\mathrm{\Omega }^{}Q^{}\right),`$ (7)   
where we have defined $`Q^{}=Q/2\pi a_0^2`$ and have dropped the surface tension term, since hereinafter we will restrict to the zero surface tension case. We introduce the relevant dimensionless control parameter of our problem, expressing the ratio of centrifugal to viscous forces, as

$`P={\displaystyle \frac{\mathrm{\Omega }^{}2\pi R^2}{Q}}={\displaystyle \frac{\pi \rho b^2R^2\mathrm{\Omega }^2}{6\mu Q}},`$ (8)   
where $`R`$ is a characteristic radius of the interface.

Eq.(7) clearly exhibits the competing effects of rotation and injection, although their roles are not quite symmetric. In fact, notice that $`Q^{}`$, which may have both signs, contains a dependence on $`a_0`$. In practice this means that $`Q^{}`$ depends effectively on time. An immediate consequence of this is that the growth of modes is not really exponential and may even be nonmonotonic. The asymmetry between injection and rotation shows up also in the fact that the sign of $`Q`$ determines which of the two effects dominates asymptotically in time. In fact, for positive injection rate the typical radius of the inner fluid is growing while typical interface velocities are decreasing, so centrifugal forces will dominate at long times. On the contrary, for negative injection rate, typical velocities increase while typical radii decrease, so injection will asymptotically dominate over rotation.

In view of Eq.(7), the most interesting configurations will be those in which $`Q>0`$, so that injection and rotation have counteracting effects. In the case $`\vartheta =+1`$ (viscous fluid inside), which was experimentally studied in Ref., rotation is always destabilizing. A positive injection rate in this case tends to stabilize the circular interface. However, for fixed $`Q`$, $`Q^{}`$ will decrease with time, so eventually the interface will reach a radius after which all modes are linearly unstable. It is thus expected that, in this case, the formation of cusps can only be delayed but not avoided .

The most interesting case from the point of view of preventing cusp formation is $`\vartheta =1`$ and $`Q>0`$, the usual configuration in viscous fingering experiments. In this case, a small rotation rate will slightly affect the linear instability, but will eventually stabilize the growth at long times, so it is conceivable to have a nontrivial evolution starting from an unstable interface but not developing finite-time singularities.

We now study the fully nonlinear dynamics of polynomial mappings. Inserting Eq.(5) into Eq.(2) with $`d_0=0`$ we obtain two ordinary differential equations describing the evolution of $`a_0(t)`$ and $`a_n(t)`$. These can be integrated analytically and yield

$`a_0^2(t)+\vartheta (n+\vartheta )a_n^2(t)={\displaystyle \frac{Q}{\pi }}t+k_0,`$ (9)   
$`a_0^{n+\vartheta }(t)a_n^\vartheta (t)=k_ne^{n\mathrm{\Omega }^{}t},`$ (10)   
where $`k_0`$ and $`k_n`$ are constants to be determined by initial conditions, and where $`n2`$ for $`\vartheta =+1`$ and $`n3`$ for $`\vartheta =1`$.

Physically acceptable solutions require that the points in the $`\omega `$plane where $`_\omega f(\omega ,t)=0`$ (noninvertible) should lie outside the unit disk. The occurrence of a cusp is associated to such a point crossing the unit circle $`|\omega |=1`$ at a finite time $`t_c`$, that is,

$`\left|{\displaystyle \frac{\vartheta a_0(t_c)}{(n+\vartheta )a_n(t_c)}}\right|=1.`$ (11)   
If we take the initial value $`a_0(0)`$ as the characteristic length $`R`$, which coincides with the radius of the perturbed circle if we are in the linear regime, and define the dimensionless time $`\tau =\mathrm{\Omega }^{}t`$, condition (11) reads

$`\alpha _n\left({\displaystyle \frac{2R^2\tau _c}{P}}+k_0\right)=e^{\beta _n\tau _c},`$ (12)   
where

$`\alpha _n={\displaystyle \frac{(n+\vartheta )^{\frac{n}{n+2\vartheta }}}{n+2\vartheta }}k_n^{\frac{2}{n+2\vartheta }},\beta _n={\displaystyle \frac{2n}{n+2\vartheta }}.`$ (13)   
Our aim is now at finding conditions such that an initially smooth interface remains smooth for an infinite time. Thus we have to impose that Eq.(11) should not have any solution for $`\tau _c>0`$. The transition between the regions with and without cusps will be defined by the conditions that the two members of Eq.(11) and their derivatives with respect to time are equal, such that the two curves have a common tangent. These two conditions allow us to eliminate $`\tau _c`$, and yield

$`x\mathrm{log}xx=\alpha _nk_0`$ (14)   
where $`x=\frac{2\alpha _n}{P\beta _n}`$, and with $`R=a_0(0)`$ in Eq.(8). We now search for solutions of Eq.(14). For $`\vartheta =+1`$ it can be proven  that this equation has no solutions, and therefore all initial conditions must eventually develop a cusp at finite time, as expected from the linear analysis. On the other hand, for $`\vartheta =1`$ the quantity on the rhs of Eq.(14) takes the simple form

$`\alpha _nk_0={\displaystyle \frac{n1}{n2}}\left(1{\displaystyle \frac{\epsilon ^2}{n1}}\right)\epsilon ^{\frac{2}{n2}},`$ (15)   
and a nontrivial critical line $`P_c(\epsilon ;n)`$ can be found for each $`n3`$. This implies that, in the configuration with the viscous fluid outside, for any initial condition there is always a certain rotation rate above which there is no cusp formation. The numerical determination of these curves is shown in Fig.1.

The leading behavior for initial conditions in the linear regime, $`\epsilon 1`$, can be found by expanding the lhs of Eq.(14) around $`x=e`$ and is given by $`P_c\frac{n1}{ne}\epsilon ^{\frac{2}{n2}}`$. Notice that there are qualitative differences for small values of $`n`$. For $`n=3`$ the curve starts horizontal at the linear level, implying that a very small rotation rate is sufficient to prevent cusp formation. For $`n=4`$ the threshold curve starts with a finite slope and for $`n>4`$ it has an infinite slope at $`\epsilon =0`$. A more detailed description and analysis of this diagram will be presented elsewhere . An example of rotation preventing cusp formation is shown in Fig.2.

In Fig.1 we also see that for any given $`\epsilon `$, the critical $`P_c`$ increases monotonically with $`n`$. If we take the limit $`n\mathrm{}`$ at fixed $`\epsilon `$ we get $`\alpha _nk_01`$. From Eq.(14) this implies $`x=1`$ and consequently we obtain an absolute upper bound $`P_c^{max}=1`$ for all values of $`n`$ and $`\epsilon `$. This implies that, for all initial conditions, there is a critical rotation rate

$`\mathrm{\Omega }_c=\left({\displaystyle \frac{6\mu Q}{\pi \rho b^2R^2}}\right)^{\frac{1}{2}}`$ (16)   
above which cusps are always eliminated. Although Eq.(16) has been derived for the class Eq.(5), it is expected that the existence of a certain $`\mathrm{\Omega }_c`$ and the scaling with physical parameters given by Eq.(16) could be more general. Notice that $`P=1`$ corresponds to the intrinsic marginal stability of the circular shape, $`Q^{}=\mathrm{\Omega }^{}`$. Therefore, the sufficient condition, valid for all initial conditions of the form Eq.(5), for not developing cusp singularities is that a circular interface with radius given by $`a_0(0)`$ be intrinsically stable, in the sense of Eq.(7). Whether deeper consequences can be drawn in a broader context from this inner connection between the linear problem and the possibility of cusp formation is an interesting open question.

We acknowledge financial support by the Dirección General de Enseñanza Superior (Spain), Project PB96-1001-C02-02 and the European Commission Project ERB FMRX-CT96-0085.