Intermittent Thermal Convection in Jammed Emulsions

We study the process of thermal convection in jammed emulsions with a yield-stress rheology. We find that heat transfer occurs via an intermittent mechanism, whereby intense short-lived convective “heat bursts” are spaced out by long-lasting conductive periods. This behavior is the result of a sequence of fluidization-rigidity transitions, rooted in a nontrivial interplay between emulsion yield-stress rheology and plastic activity, which we characterize via a statistical analysis of the dynamics at the droplet scale. We also show that droplets’ coalescence induced during heat bursts leads to a spatially heterogeneous phase inversion of the emulsion which eventually supports a sustained convective state.