Spontaneous Fabrication of Three Dimensional Multi-Scale Fractal Structures Using Hele Shaw Cell Available to Purchase

Several bio-systems such as leaf veins, respiratory system, blood circulation, some plant xylem etc., involving multi-scale fractal topologies are being mimic for their inherent natural optimization. 3D fractal structures spanning multiple scales are difficult to fabricate. In this paper we demonstrate a new method to fabricate structures spanning meso and micro-scale in a relatively easy and inexpensive manner. A well known Saffman-Taylor instability is exploited for the same in a lifted Hele-Shaw cell. In this cell a thin layer of liquid is squeezed between two plates being lifted angularly leaving behind the fractal rearrangement of fluid which is proposed to be solidified later. We demonstrate and characterize fractal structures fabricated using two different fluids and corresponding methods of solidification. The first one is ceramic suspension in a photo-polymer and another is polystyrene solution with photo-polymerization and solvent vaporization as methods of solidification respectively. The fabrication process is completed in period of a few seconds.