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Droplet breakup in the square microchannel with a short square constriction to generate slug flow
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  • Xiaoda Wang,
  • Yuanyuan Liu,
  • Dayu Liu,
  • Xuehui Ge,
  • Ling Li,
  • Ting Qiu
Xiaoda Wang
Fuzhou University

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Yuanyuan Liu
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Dayu Liu
Institute of Technology of University of Paris-Saclay
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Abstract

Droplet breakup in micro-constrictions is an important phenomenon in industrial applications. This work aimed to investigate the droplet breakup in the square microchannel with a short square constriction to generate the slug flow, which drew little attention before. Mechanism analysis indicated that this breakup process included the shear-force-dominated, squeezing-force-dominated, and pinch-off stages. Non-uniform daughter droplets were generated in the constriction with their interface restricted in the horizontal and perpendicular directions by the microchannel walls. The average relative deviation of the daughter droplet size was < 30%, much lower than that for the breakup with the daughter droplet restricted only in one direction. An empirical equation with a deviation of < 20% was provided to show the dependence of the daughter droplet size on the operation conditions. The comparison results suggested that the different restriction effects of microchannel wall on daughter droplets led to the different breakup mechanisms in different constrictions.
18 Dec 2021Submitted to AIChE Journal
22 Dec 2021Submission Checks Completed
22 Dec 2021Assigned to Editor
08 Jan 2022Reviewer(s) Assigned
18 Feb 2022Editorial Decision: Revise Major
19 Mar 20221st Revision Received
23 Mar 2022Submission Checks Completed
23 Mar 2022Assigned to Editor
29 Mar 2022Reviewer(s) Assigned
27 Apr 2022Editorial Decision: Accept
Aug 2022Published in AIChE Journal volume 68 issue 8. 10.1002/aic.17739