Abstract
We present the results of experiments studying droplet coalescence in a dense layer of emulsion droplets using microfluidic circuits. The microfluidic structure allows direct observation of shear-induced collisions and coalescence events between oil droplets dispersed in water. A mineral oil was chosen as the dispersed phase and a 9 wt% NaCl aqueous solution as the continuous phase. We determine the coalescence rate as a function of the droplet velocity and droplet concentration from image sequences measured with a high-speed camera. A trajectory analysis of colliding droplet pairs allows evaluation of the film drainage profile and coalescence time tc. From the coalescence times obtained for ten thousands of droplet pairs we calculate the coalescence time distributions for each set of experimental parameters, which are the mean droplet approach velocity 〈v0〉 and the mean dispersed phase fraction 〈φ〉. We discuss the potential of the procedure for the prediction of emulsion stability in industrial applications.
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