FURI | Spring 2022

Modeling Saffman-Taylor Instability to Guide Material Selection for Dendritic Identification Tags

Saffman-Taylor instability is a fluid dynamics phenomenon that can be used to create dendritic formations that are structurally unique. These dendrites can be used as identification tags, with their distinctive patterns preventing forgery. The physical characteristics of these dendrites are derived from the rheological properties of the fluid material used to produce the branching structures. Some morphologies of dendrites cannot be effectively used as identification tags, as their branches may be too thin and dense to be read by electronic systems. Being able to effectively model these characteristics would greatly assist the selection of ideal materials to produce these structures.