Stability of particle laden interfaces of drops flowing through a pore

Abstract

In applications such as water treatment or oil extraction, oil drops suspended in an aqueous fluid are injected in a porous medium. If their surfaces are laden with solid particles, the drops may lose their integrity when they pass through narrow pores. We study the condition for the expulsion of solid particles in experiments in which Pickering drops are made to flow in a constricted capillary tube. We show the key parameters are both the thickness of the lubricating film between the drop and the tube and the geometrical constraints exerted by the tube on the drop.