Effects of surface topography on low Reynolds number droplet/bubble flow through a constricted passage

Abstract

This paper is an attempt to study the effects of surface topography on the flow of a droplet (or a bubble) in a low Reynolds number flow regime. Multiphase flows through a constricted passage find many interesting applications in chemistry and biology. The main parameters that determine the flow properties such as flow rate and pressure drop and govern the complex multiphase phenomena such as drop coalescence and breakup in a straight channel flow are the viscosity ratio, droplet size, and ratio of the viscous forces to the surface tension forces (denoted by the capillary number). However, in flow through a constricted passage, in addition to the above-mentioned parameters, various other geometric parameters such as constriction ratio, length, shape of the constriction, phase angle, and spacing between the constrictions also start playing an important role. Most of the studies done on the problem of drop flow through a constricted passage have aimed to understand the role of physical parameters, with some studies extending their analysis to understand the variation of one or two geometric parameters. However, no study could be found, which explicitly evaluates the role of surface topography. An attempt has been made to unify the current literature as well as analyze the effect of the geometric parameters by understanding the physics and mechanisms involved. The non-dimensional numbers that govern this problem are then identified using the scaling analysis.