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cc-by (c) Ruiz-Gimenez, E. et al., 2022
Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item: https://hdl.handle.net/2445/193868

The long cross-over dynamics of capillary imbibition

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Spontaneous capillary imbibition is a classical problem in interfacial fluid dynamics with a broad range of applications, from microfluidics to agriculture. Here we study the duration of the cross-over between an initial linear growth of the imbibition front to the diffusive-like growth limit of Washburn's law. We show that local-resistance sources, such as the inertial resistance and the friction caused by the advancing meniscus, always limit the motion of an imbibing front. Both effects give rise to a cross-over of the growth exponent between the linear and the diffusive-like regimes. We show how this cross-over is much longer than previously thought - even longer than the time it takes the liquid to fill the porous medium. Such slowly slowing-down dynamics is likely to cause similar long cross-over phenomena in processes governed by wetting.

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RUIZ-GIMENEZ, E., et al. The long cross-over dynamics of capillary imbibition. Journal of Fluid Mechanics. 2022. Vol. 939, num. A39. ISSN 0022-1120. [consulted: 15 of June of 2026]. Available at: https://hdl.handle.net/2445/193868

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