Microflow of nanoemulsion threads in surfactant solutions.

We experimentally investigate the microfluidic flow of oil-in-water nanoemulsions in aqueous sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS) solutions having different concentrations and injection flow rates. A coaxial microfluidic device is employed to explore the behavior of nanoemulsion threads in these sheathing SDS solutions. Using two high-speed cameras, which simultaneously capture both top and side views, we reveal a variety of flow phenomena, ranging from simple core-annular flow to complex flows, such as gravitational, inertial, and buckling thread flows. By analyzing these complex flows, we develop a methodology that elucidates the relationship of core-annular and gravitational flows at low flow rates. Further, we examine the off-axis displacements and bending of core threads at large flow rates, and we study the buckling dynamics of nanoemulsion threads subjected to osmotic stresses caused by large SDS concentrations in the sheathing fluid.

Role of Interfacial Tension on Viscous Multiphase Flows in Coaxial Microfluidic Channels.

We experimentally investigate the influence of interfacial tension on liquid/liquid microflows for fluids having large viscosity contrasts. A coaxial microdevice is employed to examine the situation where a less-viscous fluid is injected in a sheath of a more-viscous fluid using both immiscible and miscible fluid pairs. Data obtained from high-speed imaging reveal a variety of regular flow regimes, including dripping, jetting, wavy, core-annular, diffusive jet, mist, and inverted thread flow patterns. Flow maps are delineated over a wide range of injection flow rates, and an original methodology based on periodic pattern analysis is developed to clarify relationships between interfacial dynamics and fluid properties of multiphase materials. Specifically, we show the smooth evolution of droplet size and spacing at the transition between dripping and jetting flows and develop scaling relationships based on capillary numbers to predict droplet flow morphologies. For similar flow conditions, reducing interfacial tension leads to a significant decrease in droplet size. For miscible fluid pairs, diffusive jets are observed at low Péclet numbers, whereas wavy core-annular flows are obtained at moderate Reynolds numbers for both immiscible and miscible fluids. This work provides a unifying description of the influence of interfacial properties on viscous microflow phenomena.

Viscous liquid-liquid wetting and dewetting of textured surfaces.

We experimentally investigate the spreading and receding behavior of small water droplets immersed in viscous oils on grid-patterned surfaces using synchronized bottom and profile views. In particular, the evolution of apparent advancing and receding contact angles of droplets fed at constant flow rate is studied as a function of grid surface coverage and height for a wide range of external phase viscosity. Detailed examination of droplet aspect ratio during inflation process provides an averaging method for characterization of quasi-static advancing angles on heterogeneous surfaces. Droplets spreading in partial Cassie state on planar microfluidic grids are also shown to capture oil patches that further evolve into trapped oil droplets depending on grid aspect ratio. The natural retraction velocity of thin water films is examined based on external phase velocity and regime maps of trapped droplets are delineated based on control parameters.

Swelling of Diffusive Fluid Threads in Microchannels.

The dynamics of viscous fluid threads concurrently flowing with miscible solvents is experimentally investigated in square microchannels. Diffusive fluid threads are found to significantly swell at low flow velocities due to large specific interfacial area and hydrodynamic lubrication. An approach based on bounded function analysis of confined thread diameter is developed to model diffusive behavior of viscosity-differing fluids at the small scale. This work shows the determination of a critical flow rate associated with each fluid pair and the use of dynamic similarity to calculate diffusion coefficients between oils and organic solvents. The thread divergence is estimated based on the growth of diffusion layers and related to diffusion-induced buckling instabilities of viscous threads in parallel flows.

Design, Fabrication, and Analysis of a Capillary Diode for Potential Application in Water-Oil Separation.

A capillary device is designed and fabricated in glass to work as a fluidic diode with vanishingly small hydrodynamic conductance for imbibition of water within a finite range of immersion depths. This is attained through patterning a section of predefined length on the device surfaces using a single-step laser-based ablation process and without resorting to chemical treatment of the hydrophilic glass substrate. While the studied device works as a fluidic diode for water, it can behave as a conventional capillary slit for the imbibition of oils (e.g., alkanes, silicone oils) with low surface tension. A prototype device with simple geometric design is demonstrated for selective adsorption and separation of water and oil in vertical imbibition experiments at controlled immersion depths. Efficient devices for passive separation of water and oil can be designed based on the demonstrated physical mechanism and the analytical model proposed in this work.

Forced Wetting and Dewetting of Water and Oil Droplets on Planar Microfluidic Grids.

We experimentally study the wetting behavior of small water and oil droplets spreading and receding from textured surfaces made using a backside laser processing technique. A dual image acquisition system enables the three-dimensional characterization of both wetted area and dynamic contact angles. In particular, we compare droplet growth on smooth surfaces and planar microfluidic grids of various surface coverages and heights and discuss contact angle characterization. The surface texture is shown to trap liquid in microwells during the stick-and-slip motion of advancing contact lines. Receding wetting dynamics of liquid infused substrates shows similarity with forced spreading on smooth surfaces. Contact angle hysteresis is investigated as a function of surface parameters to better delineate specific wetting behaviors of water and oil on laser-processed surfaces.

Physical ageing of spreading droplets in a viscous ambient phase.

In this work, we study the spontaneous spreading of water droplets immersed in oil and report an unexpectedly slow kinetic regime not described by previous spreading models. We can quantitatively describe the observed regime crossover and spreading rate in the late kinetic regime with an analytical model considering the presence of periodic metastable states induced by nanoscale topographic features (characteristic area ~4 nm2, height ~1 nm) observed via atomic force microscopy. The analytical model proposed in this work reveals that certain combinations of droplet volume and nanoscale topographic parameters can significantly hinder or promote wetting processes such as spreading, wicking, and imbibition.

Viscous Wave Breaking and Ligament Formation in Microfluidic Systems.

Rapid layering of viscous materials in microsystems encompasses a range of hydrodynamic instabilities that facilitate mixing and emulsification processes of fluids having large differences in viscosity. We experimentally study the stability of high-viscosity stratifications made of miscible and immiscible fluid pairs in square microchannels and characterize the propagation dynamics of interfacial waves, including breaking and viscous ligament entrainment from wave crests at moderate Reynolds numbers. For large viscosity contrasts, parallel fluid streams adopt widely different velocities and provide a simple model system to probe the role of inflectional instabilities of stratified microflows in relation with classic inviscid-stability theory. We reveal novel viscous wave regimes and unravel dispersion relationships in the presence and absence of interfacial tension. Detailed examination of wave celerity shows the existence of optimal operation conditions for passively disturbing miscible fluid flows and continuously dispersing low-and high-viscosity fluids at the small scale.

Initial microfluidic dissolution regime of CO2 bubbles in viscous oils.

We examine the initial dynamical behavior of dissolving microbubbles composed of carbon dioxide gas in highly viscous silicone oils over a range of flow rates and pressure conditions. Microfluidic periodic trains of CO(2) bubbles are used to probe the interrelation between bubble dissolution and high-viscosity multiphase flows in microgeometries. We investigate bubble morphology from low to large capillary numbers and calculate the effective mass diffusion flux across the interface by tracking and monitoring individual bubbles during shrinkage. The initial flux is characterized using a dissolution coefficient that reveals the influence of the oil molecular weight on the dissolution process. Our findings show the possibility to control and exploit the interplay between capillary and mass transfer phenomena with highly viscous fluids in small-scale systems.

CO(2) dissolution in water using long serpentine microchannels.

The evolution of carbon dioxide bubbles dissolving in water is experimentally examined using long microchannels. We study the coupling between bubble hydrodynamics and dissolution in confined geometries. The gas impregnation process in liquid produces significant flow rearrangements. Depending on the initial volumetric liquid fraction, three operating regimes are identified, namely saturating, coalescing, and dissolving. The morphological and dynamical transition from segmented to dilute bubbly flows is investigated. Tracking individual bubbles along the flow direction is used to calculate the temporal evolution of the liquid volumetric fraction and the average flow velocity near reference bubbles over long distances. This method allows us to empirically establish the functional relationship between bubble size and velocity. Finally, we examine the implication of this relationship during the coalescing flow regime, which limits the efficiency of the dissolution process.

Dissolution of carbon dioxide bubbles and microfluidic multiphase flows.

We experimentally study the dissolution of carbon dioxide bubbles into common liquids (water, ethanol, and methanol) using microfluidic devices. Elongated bubbles are individually produced using a hydrodynamic focusing section into a compact microchannel. The initial bubble size is determined based on the fluid volumetric flow rates of injection and the channel geometry. By contrast, the bubble dissolution rate is found to depend on the inlet gas pressure and the fluid pair composition. For short periods of time after the fluids initial contact, the bubble length decreases linearly with time. We show that the initial rate of bubble shrinkage is proportional to the ratio of the diffusion coefficient and the Henry's law constant associated with each fluid pair. Our study shows the possibility to rapidly impregnate liquids with CO(2) over short distances using microfluidic technology.

Deformation and breakup of high-viscosity droplets with symmetric microfluidic cross flows.

The dynamic response of highly viscous droplets to a sharp increase in the surrounding liquid velocity is experimentally investigated in a square microchannel junction. The local injection of the continuous phase from symmetric side channels onto a train of droplets produces a large velocity contrast between the front and the rear of droplets, yielding a broad range of time-dependent deformation and breakup. In particular, due to microscale confinement, the system displays a nonlinear behavior with the initial droplet size. Deformations, relaxation times, and fragmentation processes are examined as a function of flow parameters and fluids properties with emphasis on the formation of slender viscous structures such as spoon-shaped droplets, i.e., asymmetrical droplets.

Formation of miscible fluid microstructures by hydrodynamic focusing in plane geometries.

We experimentally investigate the flow structures formed when two miscible fluids that have large viscosity contrasts are injected and hydrodynamically focused in plane microchannels. Parallel viscous flows composed of a central stream surrounded by symmetric sheath streams are examined as a function of the flow rates, fluid viscosities, and rates of molecular diffusion. We study miscible interfacial morphologies and show a route for manipulating viscous flow-segregation processes in plane microsystems. The diffusion layer at the boundary of an ensheathed fluid grows as function of the distance downstream and depends on the Péclet number. In particular, we observe diffusion-enhanced viscous ensheathing processes. In the presence of a constriction, we investigate the formation of a lubricated viscous thread in the converging flow and also the buckling morphologies of the thread in the diverging flow. This study, relevant to multifluid flow between a "thick" material and a "thin" solvent, demonstrates the possibility to further control steady and oscillatory miscible fluid microstructures.

Swirling of viscous fluid threads in microchannels.

Viscous threads that are swept along in the flow of a less viscous miscible liquid can break up into viscous swirls. We experimentally investigate the evolution of miscible threads that flow off center in microchannels. Thin threads near the walls of a straight square channel become unstable to shear-induced disturbances. The amplification of the undulations transverse to the flow direction ultimately causes the threads to break up and form an array of individual viscous swirls, the miscible counterparts of droplets. This swirling instability provides a means for passively producing discrete diffusive microstructures in a continuous flow regime.

Folding of viscous threads in diverging microchannels.

We study the folding instability of a viscous thread surrounded by a less viscous miscible liquid flowing from a square to a diverging microchannel. Because of the change in the flow introduced by the diverging channel, the viscous thread minimizes viscous dissipation by oscillating to form bends rather than by simply dilating. The folding frequency and the thread diameter can be related to the volume flow rates and thus to the characteristic shear rate. Diffusive mixing at the boundary of the thread can significantly modify the folding flow morphologies. This microfluidic system enables us to control the bending of the thread and to enhance mixing between liquids having significantly different viscosities.

Bubble dispenser in microfluidic devices.

This Brief Report presents experimental and computational results on bubble formation in microfluidic devices. Bubbles are generated at the right-angle intersection of four identical square microchannels. When the pressure gradient generated by the liquid flow dominates the pressure gradient generated by gas flow, the length of the produced confined bubbles follows a law based on the channel size and fluid volume fraction. This bubble production technique was used to produce monodisperse aqueous foam in two-dimensional and three-dimensional microchannels.