title: Effective front propagation in steady cellular flows: A least time criterion.
abstract: We experimentally study the propagation of a reaction front in a chain of counter-rotating vortices. The front is induced by an autocatalytic chemical reaction in an aqueous solution stirred by electroconvective means. The front propagates by getting quickly engulfed in a vortex and by slowly crossing the separatrix to the next vortex. Its mean velocity along the chain increases with the flow intensity but shows both a bending and a dependence on the vortex aspect ratio. We recover these features within a kinematic model of front propagation by seeking the quickest front path through a vortex.
authors.affiliation: IRPHE, CNRS et Universités Aix-Marseille I & II, 49 rue Joliot-Curie, B.P. 146, Technopôle de Château-Gombert, F-13384 Marseille, Cedex 13, France.
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Pocheau
authors.forename: F
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Harambat