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Liquid–liquid micro-dispersion in a double-pore T-shaped microfluidic device

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Abstract

For further understanding the dispersion process in the T-shaped microfluidic device, a double-pore T-shaped microchannel was designed and tested with octane/water system to form monodispersed plugs and droplets in this work. The liquid–liquid two-phase flow patterns were investigated and it was found that only short plugs, relative length L/w < 1.4, were produced. Additionally, the droplets flow was realized at phase ratios (F C /F D) just higher than 0.5, which is much smaller than that in the single-pore T-shaped microchannels. A repulsed effect between the initial droplets was observed in the droplet formation process and the periodic fluctuation flow of the dispersed phase was discussed by analyzing the resistances. Besides, the effect of the two-phase flow rates on the plug length and the droplet diameter was investigated. Considering the mutual effect of the initial droplets and the equilibrium between the shearing force with the interfacial tension, phase ratio and Ca number were introduced into the semi-empirical models to present the plug and droplet sizes at different operating conditions.

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Abbreviations

Ca :

Capillary number

d :

droplet diameter (mm)

d av :

average droplet size (mm)

d p :

diameter of the pore (mm)

d w :

initial droplets width (mm)

F C :

continuous phase flow rate (μL/min)

F D :

dispersed phase flow rate (μL/min)

F P :

pressure between the initial droplets

F S :

shearing force of the cross-flow

L av :

average length of the plugs (mm)

l p :

length of the pore (mm)

P D :

pressure in the dispersed fluid inlet (Pa)

P C :

pressure at the junction in the continuous fluid (Pa)

R p,HP+S :

flow resistance (m−3)

u C :

velocity of the cross flow (m/s)

V D :

dispersed phase flow rate through a pore (μL/min)

w :

width of the channel (mm)

γ :

interface tension (N/m)

∆p f :

pressure difference caused by the flow resistance (Pa)

∆p i :

pressure impetus of the dispersed fluid (Pa)

∆p Y–L :

pressure difference caused by the interfacial tension (Pa)

δ :

standard deviation of droplet size (mm)

μ C :

viscosity of continuous phase (Pa s)

μ D :

viscosity of the dispersed phase (Pa s)

σ :

polydispersity index (%)

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Acknowledgments

We gratefully acknowledge the supports of the National Natural Science Foundation of China (20490200, 20525622) and National Basic Research Program of China (2007CB714302) on this work.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. The State Key Lab of Chemical Engineering, Department of Chemical Engineering, Tsinghua University, Bei**g, 100084, China

    K. Wang, Y. C. Lu, J. H. Xu, J. Tan & G. S. Luo

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  1. K. Wang
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  2. Y. C. Lu
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  3. J. H. Xu
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  4. J. Tan
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  5. G. S. Luo
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Correspondence to G. S. Luo.

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Wang, K., Lu, Y.C., Xu, J.H. et al. Liquid–liquid micro-dispersion in a double-pore T-shaped microfluidic device. Microfluid Nanofluid 6, 557–564 (2009). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10404-008-0332-2

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10404-008-0332-2

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