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Minimum applied pressure for a drop through an abruptly constricted capillary

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Abstract

Two-phase flow in a capillary with different radii is a fundamental phenomenon in many sciences and engineering applications. A tilted pore-throat structure is designed to study a drop flow through an abruptly constricted capillary under gravity/microgravity. The theoretical models for the flow time, total resistance pressure drop and the required minimal applied pressure for a drop passing through an abruptly constricted capillary under gravity/microgravity are derived, and the relationships among them are discussed and analyzed comprehensively. It is found that the total resistance pressure and the required minimal applied pressure for a drop passing an abruptly constricted capillary under gravity/microgravity depend on the pore-throat ratio, inclination angle, contact angle and the diameter of the smaller capillary. The present model predictions are compared with available experimental data in the literature, and good agreement is found between them. The theoretical models may have the potential in many sciences and technologies.

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Acknowledgments

This work was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China through Grant No. 10932010.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Physics, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, 430074, People’s Republic of China

    Mingchao Liang, Shanshan Yang, Tongjun Miao & Boming Yu

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  1. Mingchao Liang
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  2. Shanshan Yang
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  3. Tongjun Miao
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  4. Boming Yu
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Correspondence to Boming Yu.

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Liang, M., Yang, S., Miao, T. et al. Minimum applied pressure for a drop through an abruptly constricted capillary. Microfluid Nanofluid 19, 1–8 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10404-014-1541-5

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10404-014-1541-5

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