| Issue |
EPL
Volume 154, Number 2, April 2026
|
|
|---|---|---|
| Article Number | 23001 | |
| Number of page(s) | 7 | |
| Section | Fluid and nonlinear dynamics | |
| DOI | https://doi.org/10.1209/0295-5075/ae58cd | |
| Published online | 22 April 2026 | |
Rayleigh-Bénard thermal convection in emulsions: A short review(a)
1 CNR, Istituto per le Applicazioni del Calcolo - Via dei Taurini 19, 00185 Rome, Italy
2 INFN, Sezione Roma “Tor Vergata” - Via della Ricerca Scientifica 1, 00133 Rome, Italy
3 Department of Physics, Tor Vergata University of Rome - Via della Ricerca Scientifica 1, 00133 Rome, Italy
4 Sino-Europe Complex Science Center, School of Mathematics North University of China Shanxi, Taiyuan 030051, China
Received: 18 December 2025
Accepted: 30 March 2026
Abstract
Thermally driven emulsions arise in a broad range of natural and industrial contexts, yet their fundamental physical understanding remains only partially established. Emulsions exhibit a complex, concentration-dependent rheology, ranging from Newtonian (dilute emulsions) to yield stress (concentrated emulsions). In buoyancy-driven flows, the complex structure and rheology of the emulsion are strongly coupled to convective flows, giving rise to fascinating and non-trivial phenomena involving stability, transient dynamics, and morphological evolution of the system. We review recent progress on thermally driven emulsions in the celebrated Rayleigh-Bénard configuration, offering new perspectives on the behaviour of soft materials in thermal convection.
Contribution to the Focus Issue on Complex Flows and Complex Fluids edited by Alessandra S. Lanotte, Massimo Cencini, Luca Biferale and Adriano Barra.
© 2026 The author(s)
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