Studies of plug formation in microchannel liquid–liquid flows using advanced particle image velocimetry techniques

Abstract

Two complementary micro Particle Image Velocimetry (μPIV) techniques have been developed in this work to study plug formation at a microchannel inlet during the flow of two immiscible liquids. Experiments were conducted for different fluid flow rate combinations in a T-junction, where all branches had internal diameters equal to 200μm. The dispersed phase was a water/glycerol solution and was injected from the side branch of the junction, while the continuous phase was silicon oil and was injected along the main channel axis. In the two-colour μPIV technique two laser wavelengths are used to illuminate two different tracer particles, one in each fluid, and phase averaged velocity profiles can be obtained in both phases simultaneously. In the high speed bright field μPIV technique, a backlight illuminates the test section, where the dispersed phase plug is seeded with tracer particles. This approach allows velocity profiles of the forming dispersed plugs to be followed in time.Non-dimensional plug lengths were found to vary linearly with the aqueous to organic phase flow rate ratio, in agreement with a well-known scaling correlation. The flowrate ratio also affected the velocity profiles within the forming plugs. In particular, for a ratio equal to one, a vortex appears at the tip of the plug in the early stages of plug formation. The interface curvature at the rear of the forming plug changes sign at the later stages of plug formation and accelerates the thinning of the meniscus leading to plug breakage. The spatially resolved velocity fields obtained in both phases with the two-colour PIV show that the continuous phase resists the flow of the dispersed phase into the main channel at the rear of the plug meniscus and causes the change in the interface curvature. This change of interface curvature was accompanied by an increase in vorticity inside the dispersed phase during plug formation.