Patterns beyond Faraday waves: Observation of parametric crossover from Faraday instabilities to the formation of vortex lattices in open dual fluid strata

Abstract

Faraday first characterised the behaviour of a fluid in a container subjected to vertical periodic oscillations. His study pertaining to hydrodynamic instability, the 'Faraday instability', has catalysed a myriad of experimental, theoretical, and numerical studies shedding light on the mechanisms responsible for the transition of a system at rest to a new state of well-ordered vibrational patterns at fixed frequencies. Here we study dual strata in a shallow vessel containing distilled water and high-viscosity lubrication oil on top of it. At elevated driving power, beyond the Faraday instability, the top stratum is found to 'freeze' into a rigid pattern with maxima and minima. At the same time there is a dynamic crossover into a new state in the form of a lattice of recirculating vortices in the lower layer containing the water. Instrumentation and the physics behind are analysed in a phenomenological way together with a basic heuristic modelling of the wave field. The study, which is based on relatively low-budget equipment, stems from related art projects that have evolved over the years. The study is of value within basic research as well as in education, especially as more advanced collective project work in e.g. engineering physics, where it invites further studies of pattern formation, the emergence of vortex lattices and complexity.