ABSTRACT
Foams are dispersions of gas bubbles in a continuous matrix that find many applications in industry and daily life. Examples include aerated foods, packaging, and isolation materials. A big challenge is to control foam formation and deterioration via creaming, drainage, coalescence, and disproportionation. Many foams, for example, food foams, consist of various interacting components, like proteins, small molecular surfactants, and carbohydrate polymers, that exhibit different physical and chemical properties. The role of these components on the various phenomena involved in foam formation and stability are not yet sufficiently well understood. In order to get better insights, it is crucial to develop generic quantitative relations between the properties of the ingredients and that of the multicomponent foam. Therefore we model and experimentally study ingredient interactions, air/water interfaces, thin liquid films, single air bubbles, and foams of model food systems containing proteins and low molecular weight surfactants.
