78th Annual Meeting of the APS Division of Fluid Dynamics (Nov 23 — 25, 2025)
P030: When Liquids Paint Jellyfish in Gel
In our experiment, dyed water was injected into a polymer gel through a micro-nozzle, giving rise to a stable vortex ring. The vortex ring expanded symmetrically about a central axis and gradually evolved into a striking anchor-shaped pattern that endured for hours after injection had stopped. This remarkable persistence was made possible by the gel's high viscosity and yield stress, which suppressed dissipation and preserved the mixing vortex structures. Such behavior illustrates how the rheological properties of gel-like materials strongly influence flow and dispersion. Understanding these effects is essential for improving control of jet dynamics in applications ranging from liquid-in-liquid printing to drug delivery.
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