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Full-Text Articles in Complex Fluids

Microfluidic Study Of The Electrocoalescence Of Aqueous Droplets In Crude Oil, Thomas Leary, Mohsen Yeganeh, Charles Maldarelli Mar 2020

Microfluidic Study Of The Electrocoalescence Of Aqueous Droplets In Crude Oil, Thomas Leary, Mohsen Yeganeh, Charles Maldarelli

Publications and Research

In electrocoalescence, an electric field is applied to a dispersion of conducting water droplets in a poorly conducting oil to force the droplets to merge in the direction of the field. Electrocoalescence is used in petroleum refining to separate water from crude oil and in droplet-based microfluidics to combine droplets of water in oil and to break emulsions. Using a microfluidic design to generate a two-dimensional (2D) emulsion, we demonstrate that electrocoalescence in an opaque crude oil can be visualized with optical microscopy and studied on an individual droplet basis in a chamber whose height is small enough to make …


Coalescence-Induced Jumping Of Droplet: Inertia And Viscosity Effects, Samaneh Farokhirad, Jeffrey F. Morris, Taehun Lee Jan 2015

Coalescence-Induced Jumping Of Droplet: Inertia And Viscosity Effects, Samaneh Farokhirad, Jeffrey F. Morris, Taehun Lee

Publications and Research

The problem of coalescence-induced self-propelled jumping of droplet is studied using three-dimensional numerical simulation. The focus is on the effect of inertia and in particular the effect of air density on the behavior of the merged droplet during jumping. A lattice Boltzmann method is used for two identical, static micro-droplets coalescing on a homogeneous substrate with contact angle ranging from 0◦ to 180◦. The results reveal that the effect of air density is significant on detachment of the merged droplet from the substrate at the later stage of the jumping process; the larger the air density, the larger the jumping …