Viscous Fingering — Hele-Shaw Cell

Saffman-Taylor instability: less viscous fluid displaces more viscous fluid

In a Hele-Shaw cell (two closely-spaced plates), injected fluid forms fractal fingers via the Saffman-Taylor instability. Surface tension stabilizes small wavelengths; viscosity contrast drives instability. With crystallographic anisotropy (set Anisotropy > 0), fingers align along preferred axes producing dendrite-like patterns. Simulated via diffusion-limited aggregation (DLA) on a grid.