Biomedical subjects

José Bico

Publications and source records attributed to José Bico.

3 recordsLinked to original sources

PubMed2004

Adhesion: elastocapillary coalescence in wet hair.

We investigated why wet hair clumps into bundles by dunking a model brush of parallel elastic lamellae into a perfectly wetting liquid. As the brush is withdrawn, pairs of bundles aggregate successively, forming complex hierarchical patterns that depend on a balance between capillary forces and the elasticity of the lamellae. This capillary-driven self-assembly of flexible structures, which occurs in the tarsi of insects and in biomimetic adhesives but which can also damage micro-electromechanical structures or carbon nanotube 'carpets', represents a new type of coalescence process.

Elasticity↗

PubMed2004

Self-similar etching.

When a fiber is brought into contact with a soft etching liquid, a conical tip is generally shaped. We show here that the use of corrosive liquids which release gases during the etching reaction may lead to original self-similar shapes, because of successive pinning and detachment of the meniscus. The conditions for the formation of this shape and its evolution are described. In particular, we stress the effect of convection due to released bubbles.

Journal Article↗

PubMed2002

Rise of liquids and bubbles in angular capillary tubes.

We discuss the rise of a liquid inside an angular capillary tube. It is shown that for a wetting liquid, the height of the rise is (as usually) inversely proportional to the length which characterizes the confinement. The exact laws deduced from energetic considerations are found to be in excellent agreement with the data. We then show how such tubes can be used to prevent bubbles from being trapped. The rising velocity of a bubble is finally discussed, in the particular case of a square tube.

Journal Article↗