Progression d'un agent de coalescence dans une emulsion

We discuss the migration of a solid particle which breaks the water film between two oil droplets, in an emulsion which was originally monodisperse (droplet diameter d) and metastable. After one rupture, the particle, following the water films, moves by a distance ~ d; then, after a certain waiting time τ, it induces a new rupture. We consider two cases: the interface between an O/W emulsion and a large O reservoir, which becomes slightly rough under the action of a few panicles; and inside a monodisperse emulsion, a single particle induces the growth of a droplet (nearly spherical) of size R(t)~ d(t/τ)^1/3. In a final stage, the large drops formed over different particles come into contact, and one may end up with an oil matrix containing droplets of the O/W emulsion.