Figure 2.

Computational fluid dynamic model for capillary sprout. Top: Capillary geometry was constructed in 2D with two different branching sprouts (L and 2.5×L). Middle: Calculated flow field in capillary model shows recirculation in the geometry. A-A^′ and B-B^′ are cross-lines at which velocity profiles were derived. Bottom: Velocity profile in the short branch model (l) shows significant differences in magnitudes (∼30 times) of velocity gradients (shown as dotted lines), and moreover, the long branch model (2.5×L) has a negligible velocity gradient at the tip of the capillary sprout.