Experimental study on the dispersed phase droplet formation process in a circumferential shear flow in dripping regime

Abstract

A simplified experimental device was designed to simulate the shear flow in a liquid-liquid cyclone reactor. And the dispersed phase droplet formation process in the shear flow in dripping regime was investigated. Four characteristic parameters, droplet growth time (Tg), shrink time (Ts), formation time (Tf) and size (d) were used to describe the formation process. All the parameters presented fluctuation with different serial droplet numbers. Therefore, the effect of dispersed phase inlet flow rate (vd) on the value and uniformity of the parameters are analyzed. The results indicate that with the increase of vd, Tg, Ts, Tf decrease firstly and then increase, while the droplet size gradually increases. Meanwhile, the uniformity of Tg decreases first and then basically tends to be stable, while that of Ts, Tf and d decreases firstly and then increases. Eventually, the optimal range of vd under different continuous phase inlet flow rate is provided.