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Droplet breakup in microfluidic T-junctions at small capillary numbers
We perform experimental studies of droplet breakup in microfluidic T-junctions in a range of capillary numbers lying between 4 × 10 − 4 and 2 × 10 − 1 and for two viscosity ratios of the fluids forming the dispersed and continuous phases. The present paper extends the range of capillary numbers expl...
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Published in: | Physics of fluids (1994) 2009-07, Vol.21 (7), p.072001-072001-6 |
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Main Authors: | , , , , |
Format: | Article |
Language: | English |
Subjects: | |
Citations: | Items that this one cites Items that cite this one |
Online Access: | Get full text |
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Summary: | We perform experimental studies of droplet breakup in microfluidic T-junctions in a range of capillary numbers lying between
4
×
10
−
4
and
2
×
10
−
1
and for two viscosity ratios of the fluids forming the dispersed and continuous phases. The present paper extends the range of capillary numbers explored by previous investigators by two orders of magnitude. We single out two different regimes of breakup. In a first regime, a gap exists between the droplet and the wall before breakup occurs. In this case, the breakup process agrees well with the analytical theory of
Leshansky
and
Pismen
[
Phys. Fluids
21
,
023303
(
2009
)
]. In a second regime, droplets keep obstructing the T-junction before breakup. Using physical arguments, we introduce a critical droplet extension for describing the breakup process in this case. |
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ISSN: | 1070-6631 1089-7666 |
DOI: | 10.1063/1.3170983 |