Abstract
The aim of this study is to develop a constitutive model for disperse blends applicable in complex flows and to cast this model in a finite element framework. As the number of droplets in realistic conditions is extremely large, it is computationally intractable to model all droplets individually. Droplet populations are modeled that have macroscopically averaged morphological properties. These properties are the droplet stretch ratio, the unstretched droplet radius, the orientation vector, and the number of droplets per unit volume. The evolution equations of these properties vary based on the morphological state transitions. The current model describes the morphology evolution in complex geometries, assuming Newtonian mixture constituents and monodisperse droplet populations. The numerical model has been validated for simple shear flow. Results are discussed for Poiseuille flow and the eccentric cylinder flow.
Highlights
An important class of materials is polymer blends
The objective of this study is to develop a phenomenological model for predicting the morphology evolution of disperse blends in complex flows
We have validated our phenomenological model for simple shear flow and in the subsequent sections, we show results of our blend model in Poiseuille flow and an eccentric cylinder flow, both of which are relevant for practical applications
Summary
An important class of materials is polymer blends. The majority of polymer blends are immiscible, because mixing long polymer chains is thermodynamically unfavorable. Many polymer blends have a multiphase structure. There is a huge variety of structures that can be produced, such as dispersed droplets (dispersive blends), cocontinuous blends, and fibril-like structures. Dispersive mixing is an often used method in industry, in polymer blending, and in, for example, food processing and the pharmaceutical industry. To obtain the desired material properties, it is crucial to be able to control the droplet size of the disperse phase. Depending on the emulsion properties and the processing history, the droplets can undergo changes as a result of deformation, orientation, breakup, and coalescence
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