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An experimental note on the deformation and breakup of viscoelastic droplets rising in non-Newtonian fluids

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Abstract

The deformation of viscoelastic droplets rising in non-Newtonian fluids is examined experimentally. Similarly to the case of bubbles and Newtonian droplets traveling in viscoelastic fluids, a critical volume exists but there is no jump in velocity nor a drastic change in droplet geometry. Nevertheless, a tail appears as well as a negative wake. For large-enough volumes, the thickness of the tail is much larger than that for the Newtonian droplets; this is also true for the magnitude of the negative wake and for the extension of the tail. The head of the droplet is subjected to a bi-axial elongation which deforms the spherical part of the droplet converting it into an elongated shape. This elongated shape blends into a tail and the droplet is converted into a viscous elongated teardrop. The tail is then subjected to a uniaxial extensional flow under the action of elongational stresses along the length of the tail. This extensional flow is counteracted by the shear stresses acting on the interface between the tail and the outer surrounding fluid. This interaction will determine the tail breakup. The influence of the elastic properties of the surrounding fluid and the extensional viscosity of the droplet will be responsible for the length and thickness of the tail as well as for its breakup mechanism.

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Acknowledgments

The authors wish to acknowledge Prof. K. Breuer for allowing us to use his lab facilities during the sabbatical leave of B.M. at Brown University. Also, we acknowledge the grant given by DGAPA (UNAM) through project PAPIIT IN106512. Useful comments from the referees are also gratefully acknowledged.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Laboratorio de Ingeniería y Procesos Costeros, Instituto de Ingeniería, UNAM, Puerto de Abrigo S/N, Sisal, Yucatán, 97355, Mexico

    Susana L. Ortiz, Bernardo Figueroa-Espinoza & Baltasar Mena

  2. School of Engineering, Brown University, Providence, RI, USA

    Julia S. Lee

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  1. Susana L. Ortiz
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  2. Julia S. Lee
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  3. Bernardo Figueroa-Espinoza
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  4. Baltasar Mena
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Correspondence to Baltasar Mena.

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Ortiz, S.L., Lee, J.S., Figueroa-Espinoza, B. et al. An experimental note on the deformation and breakup of viscoelastic droplets rising in non-Newtonian fluids. Rheol Acta 55, 879–887 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00397-016-0970-3

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00397-016-0970-3

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