We consider the propagation of an air finger into a wide fluid-filled channel with a spatially varying depth profile. Our aim is to understand the origin of the multiple coexisting families of both steady and oscillatory propagating fingers previously observed in experiments in axially uniform channels each containing a centred step-like occlusion. We find that a depth-averaged model can reproduce all the finger propagation modes observed experimentally. In addition, the model reveals new modes for symmetric finger propagation. The inclusion of a spatially variable channel depth in the depth-averaged equations leads to: (i) a variable mobility coefficient within the fluid domain due to variations in viscous resistance of the channel; and (ii) a variable transverse curvature term in the dynamic boundary condition that modifies the pressure jump over the air-liquid interface. We use our model to examine the roles of these two distinct effects and find that both contribute to the steady bifurcation structure, while the transverse curvature term is responsible for the distinctive oscillatory propagation modes.

We examine the sensitivity of Saffman-Taylor fingers to controlled variations in channel depth by investigating the effects of centred, rectangular occlusions in Hele-Shaw channels. For large occlusions, the geometry is known to support symmetric, asymmetric and oscillatory propagation states when air displaces a more viscous fluid from within the channel. A previously developed depth-averaged model is found to be in quantitative agreement with laboratory experiments once the aspect ratio (width/height) of the tube's cross-section reaches a value of 40. We find that the multiplicity of solutions at finite occlusion heights arises through interactions of the single stable and multiple unstable solutions already present in the absence of the occlusion: the classic Saffman-Taylor viscous fingering problem. The sequence of interactions that occurs with increasing occlusion height is the same for all aspect ratios investigated, but the occlusion height required for each interaction decreases with increasing aspect ratio. Thus, the system becomes more sensitive as the aspect ratio increases in the sense that multiple solutions are provoked for smaller relative depth changes. We estimate that the required depth changes become of the same order as the typical roughnesses of the experimental system (1 µm) for aspect ratios beyond 155, which we conjecture underlies the extreme sensitivity of experiments conducted in such Hele-Shaw channels.

Motivated by the reopening mechanics of strongly collapsed airways, we study the steady propagation of an air finger through a collapsed oil-filled channel with a single compliant wall. In a previous study using fully-compliant elastic tubes, a 'pointed' air finger was found to propagate at high speed and low pressure, which, if clinically accessible, offers the potential for rapid reopening of highly collapsed airways with minimal tissue damage (Heap & Juel 2008). The mechanism underlying the selection of that pointed finger, however, remained unexplained. In this paper, we identify the required selection mechanism by conducting an experimental study in a simpler geometry: a rigid rectangular Hele-Shaw channel with an elastic top boundary. The constitutive behaviour of this elasto-rigid channel is non-linear and broadly similar to that of an elastic tube, but unlike the tube the channel's cross-section adopts self-similar shapes from the undeformed state to the point of first near wall contact. The ensuing simplification of the vessel geometry enables the systematic investigation of the reopening dynamics in terms of increasing initial collapse. We find that for low levels of initial collapse, a single centred symmetric finger propagates in the channel and its shape is set by the tip curvature. As the level of collapse increases, the channel cross-section develops a central region of near opposite wall contact, and the finger shape evolves smoothly towards a 'flat-tipped' finger whose geometry is set by the strong depth gradient near the channel walls. We show that the flat-tipped mode of reopening is analogous to the pointed finger observed in tubes. Its propagation is sustained by the vessel's extreme cross-sectional profile at high collapse, while vessel compliance is necessary to stabilise it. A simple scaling argument based on the dissipated power reveals that this reopening mode is preferred at higher propagation speeds when it becomes favourable to displace the elastic channel wall rather than the viscous fluid.

No abstract

One mechanism for airway closure in the lung is the surface-tension-driven instability of the mucus layer which lines the airway wall. We study the instability of an axisymmetric layer of viscoplastic Bingham liquid coating the interior of a rigid tube, which is a simple model for an airway that takes into account the yield stress of mucus. An evolution equation for the thickness of the liquid layer is derived using long-wave theory, from which we also derive a simpler thin-film evolution equation. In the thin-film case we show that two branches of marginally yielded static solutions of the evolution equation can be used to both predict the size of the initial perturbation required to trigger instability and quantify how increasing the capillary Bingham number (a parameter measuring yield stress relative to surface tension) reduces the final deformation of the layer. Using numerical solutions of the long-wave evolution equation, we quantify how the critical layer thickness required to form a liquid plug in the tube increases as the capillary Bingham number is increased. We discuss the significance of these findings for modelling airway closure in obstructive conditions such as cystic fibrosis, where the mucus layer is often thicker and has a higher yield stress.