Dr Nicolas Francois
Research interests
Solid and fluid mechanical metamaterials
Physics and Mechanics of Biomaterials (wood, bone)
X-ray microtomography
Rock mechanics
Fluid mechanics
Complex fluids
Granular materials
Publications
- Gorce, J, Bliokh, K, Xia, H et al. 2021, 'Rolling spinners on the water surface', Science Advances, vol. 7, no. 16, pp. 1-5.
- Francois, N, Xia, H, Punzmann, H et al. 2020, 'Nonequilibrium Thermodynamics of Turbulence-Driven Rotors', Physical Review Letters, vol. 124, no. 25, pp. -.
- Hong, S, Gorce, J, Punzmann, H et al. 2020, 'Surface waves control bacterial attachment and formation of biofilms in thin layers', Science Advances, vol. 6, no. 22, pp. -.
- Yang, J, Francois, N, Punzmann, H et al 2019, 'Diffusion of ellipsoids in laboratory two-dimensional turbulent flow', Physics of Fluids, vol. 31, no. 8.
- Xia, H, Francois, N, Faber, B et al 2019, 'Local anisotropy of laboratory two-dimensional turbulence affects pair dispersion', Physics of Fluids, vol. 31, no. 2, pp. -.
- Xia, H, Francois, N, Gorce, J et al 2019, 'Generation of vortex lattices at the liquid-gas interface using rotating surface waves', Fluids, vol. 4, no. 2.
- Gorce, J, Xia, H, Francois, N et al 2019, 'Confinement of surface spinners in liquid metamaterials ', PNAS - Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, vol. 116, no. 51, pp. 25424-25429.
- Xia, H, Francois, N, Punzmann, H et al 2019, 'Tunable diffusion in wave-driven two-dimensional turbulence', Journal of Fluid Mechanics, vol. 865, pp. 811-830.
- Yang, J, Davoodianidalik, M, Xia, H et al 2019, 'Passive propulsion in turbulent flows', Physical Review Fluids, vol. 4, no. 10, pp. 1-13.
- Xia, H, Francois, N, Punzmann, H et al 2018, 'Extreme concentration fluctuations due to local reversibility of mixing in turbulent flows', Modern Physics Letters B, vol. 32, no. 12&13, pp. 1-5.
- Francois, N, Xia, H, Punzmann, H et al 2018, 'Rectification of chaotic fluid motion in two-dimensional turbulence', Physical Review Fluids, vol. 3, no. 12, pp. 1-10.
- Saadatfar, M, Takeuchi, H, Hanifpour, M et al 2017, 'Granular compaction and the topology of pore deformation', 8th International Conference on Micromechanics on Granular Media, Powders and Grains 2017, ed. Radjai F.Delenne J.Y, EPJ Web of Conferences , Montpelier, France, pp. -.
- Xia, H & Francois, N 2017, 'Two-dimensional turbulence in three-dimensional flows', Physics of Fluids, vol. 29, no. 11, pp. 111107 (13pp).
- Francois, N, Xia, H, Punzmann, H et al. 2017, 'Wave-based liquid-interface metamaterials', Nature Communications, vol. 8, no. 14325, pp. 14325-14325.
- Saadatfar, M, Takeuchi, H, Robins, V et al. 2017, 'Pore configuration landscape of granular crystallization', Nature Communications, vol. 8, pp. 15082-15082.
- Francois, N, Xia, H, Punzmann, H et al 2015, 'Inhibition of wave-driven two-dimensional turbulence by viscoelastic films of proteins', Physical Review E-Statistical, Nonlinear and Soft Matter Physics, vol. 92, no. 2, pp. 1-6.
- Francois, N, Xia, H, Punzmann, H et al 2015, 'Wave-particle interaction in the Faraday waves', European Physical Journal E, vol. 38, no. 10, pp. 106-106.
- Hanifpour, M, Francois, N, Robins, V et al 2015, 'Structural and mechanical features of the order-disorder transition in experimental hard-sphere packings', Physical Review E-Statistical, Nonlinear and Soft Matter Physics, vol. 91, no. 6.
- Francois, N, Xia, H, Punzmann, H et al 2015, 'Braid Entropy of Two-Dimensional Turbulence', Scientific Reports, vol. 5, pp. 18564-18564.
- Hanifpour, M, Francois, N, Allaei, M et al. 2014, 'Mechanical characterization of partially crystallized sphere packings', Physical Review Letters, vol. 113, no. 14.
- Punzmann, H, Francois, N, Xia, H et al 2014, 'Generation and reversal of surface flows by propagating waves', Nature Physics, vol. 10, no. 9, pp. 658-663.
- Shats, M, Francois, N, Xia, H et al 2014, 'Turbulence driven by Faraday surface waves', 5th International Symposium on Physics of Fluids (ISPF5), ed. C. Shu, J. Wu, Q. D. Cai, C. B. Lee and N. Zhao, World Scientific Publishing Co. Pte Ltd, online, p. 12.
- Sheppard, A, Latham, S, Middleton, J et al. 2014, 'Techniques in helical scanning, dynamic imaging and image segmentation for improved quantitative analysis with X-ray micro-CT', Nuclear Instruments and Methods in Physics Research: Section B, vol. 324, pp. 49-56.
- Francois, N, Xia, H, Punzmann, H et al 2014, 'Three-Dimensional Fluid Motion in Faraday Waves: Creation of Vorticity and Generation of Two-Dimensional Turbulence', Physical Review X, vol. 4, no. 2, p. 021021.
- Xia, H, Francois, N, Punzmann, H et al 2014, 'Taylor Particle Dispersion during Transition to Fully developed Two-Dimensional Turbulence', Physical Review Letters, vol. 112, no. 10, p. 104501.
- Francois, N, Arnoux, T, Garcia, L et al 2014, 'Experimental investigation of the mechanical stiffness of periodic framework-patterned elastomers', Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society Series A, vol. 372, no. 2008, p. 17.
- Xu, H, Pumir, A, Falkovich, G et al 2014, 'Flight-crash events in turbulence', PNAS - Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, vol. 111, no. 21, pp. 7558-7563.
- Sheppard, A, Kingston, A, Myers, G et al. 2013, 'New Methods in Helical Scanning, Dynamic Imaging and Image Segmentation for Improved Quantitative Analysis in Micro-CT', International Conference on Tomography of Materials and Structures (ICTMS 2013), ed. Veerle Cnudde, Ghent University, Ghent, Belgium, pp. 119-122.
- Saadatfar, M, Francois, N, Arad, A et al. 2013, 'Grain-based characterisation and acoustic wave propagation in a sand packing subject to triaxial compression', AIP Conference Proceedings, vol. 1542, no. 571, pp. 571-574.
- Francois, N, Saadatfar, M, Hanifpour, M et al 2013, 'Crystallisation in a granular material', AIP Conference Proceedings, vol. 1542, pp. 369-372.
- Hanifpour, M, Francois, N, Allaei, M et al 2013, 'DEM simulation of experimental dense granular packing', AIP Conference Proceedings, vol. 1542, no. 337, pp. 337-340.
- Francois, N, Saadatfar, M, Cruikshank, R et al 2013, 'Geometrical frustration in amorphous and partially crystallized packings of spheres', Physical Review Letters, vol. 111, no. 14, pp. -.
- Francois. N, Xia. H, Punzmann. H, and Shats M. ,'Inverse Energy Cascade and Emergence of Large Coherent Vortices in Turbulence Driven by Faraday Waves', Physical Review Letters 110, 194501 (2013)
- Xia, H., Francois, N., Punzmann, H., and Shats, M. 2013, 'Lagrangian scale of particle dispersion in turbulence', Nature Communications, vol. 4: 2013 doi: 10.1038/ncomms3013.
- Qajar, J, Francois, N & Arns, C 2012, 'Micro-tomographic characterization of dissolution-induced local porosity changes including fines migration in carbonate rock', SPE EOR Conference at Oil and Gas West Asia - EOR: Building Towards Sustainable Growth 2012, Conference Organising Committee, Muscat Oman, pp. 117-134.
- Saadatfar, M, Francois, N, Arad, A et al. 2012, '3D mapping of deformation in an uncosolidated sand: a Micro mechanical study', Society of Exploration Geophysicists Annual Meeting (SEG 2012), Society of Exploration Geophysicists, USA, pp. 1-6.
- N. François, Y. Amarouchene, B. Lounis, and H. Kellay, Polymer conformations and hysteretic stresses in nonstationary flows of polymer solutions, Europhysics Letters, 86, 34002 (2009)
- N. François, D. Lasne, Y. Amarouchene, B. Lounis, and H. Kellay, Drag Enhancement with Polymers, Physical Review Letters, 100, 018302
Projects and Grants
Grants information is drawn from ARIES. To add or update Projects or Grants information please contact your College Research Office.
- ARC Training Centre for Multiscale 3D Imaging, Modelling and Manufacturing (Secondary Investigator)
- Biofilms in two-dimensional turbulent flows:effects on Lagrangian transport (Primary Investigator)
- Flow generation on the water surface (Secondary Investigator)