Capillary rise in foams under microgravity

The motion of liquid into a foam under low-gravity conditions is studied both experimentally and theoretically. The foam is confined to two dimensions in a Hele–Shaw cell and the liquid fraction measured by image analysis. The foam imbibition is shown to be a diffusive process. Two models are analysed, corresponding to the limits of rigid and mobile interfaces in the Plateau borders. Liquid fraction profiles are compared to experimental ones.