Relative Viscosity of Non-Newtonian Concentrated Emulsions of Noncolloidal Droplets

Abstract

The relative viscosity of non-Newtonian concentrated emulsions of nearly spherical, non-Brownian droplets, in the absence of Coulombic and van der Waals interactions, is a function of four variables: the viscosity ratio (K), the volume fraction of dispersed phase (φ), the particle Reynolds number (NRe,p), and the maximum packing volume fraction (φm). The maximum packing volume fraction depends on the droplet size distribution. Based on five sets of data for monomodal and bimodal emulsions, a novel correlation is proposed to describe the relative viscosity of non-Newtonian concentrated emulsions. The proposed correlation can be used to predict the relative viscosity−Reynolds number behavior of non-Newtonian concentrated emulsions from the knowledge of the volume fraction of the dispersed phase, the viscosity ratio, and the maximum packing volume fraction of dispersed phase.