Prediction of Flow Regime and Droplet Breakup Time at T junction Microchannel by Using Phase Field Method

In this study, the Phase Field Method (PFM) was used for modeling of flow and droplet formation at the two-dimensional T junction. For this purpose, two incompressible and immiscible fluids were used that the continuous phase flows in the main channel, while discontinuous fluid flows in the side channel. The present study investigates the influences of dimensionless capillary number parameters, the ratio of two phases' velocity as well as the contact angle on the process of droplet formation. Capillary number is one of the important parameters in determining the properties of fluid flow in microchannels. The number is defined as the ratio between viscosity force and surface tension. The range used in this study for capillary number is from 0.006 to 0.036. The velocity ratio between the two phases was considered as 0.125, 0.25 and 0.5, and finally, the changes range of contact angle were from 130 ° to 180 °. The results show that based on these values, three regimes of dripping, squeezing and jetting will be developed. The separation time of the droplet also increases with increasing contact angle in the squeezing regime, while in in the dripping regime, increased contact angle will lead to reduced separation time of the droplet

Prediction of Flow Regime and Droplet Breakup Time at T junction Microchannel by Using Phase Field Method Keywords:

Droplet formation , T junction , Phase Field Method