| It is known that viscous fingering induced by centrifugal forcing leads to the frequent, spontaneous formation of topological singularities in the form of finite-time interface pinch-off. The physics of the problem has recently revealed as a rather subtle and counterintuitive interplay between capillary and centrifugal forces, with rotation sometimes preventing pinch-off and sometimes inducing it. We review recent results obtained through the simultaneous approach to the problem in terms of both sharp-interface and phase-field methods. We discuss the conceptual and practical advantages of the phase-field approach from a physically realistic point of view to pinch-off singularities in Hele-Shaw cells. |
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