Liquid bridge length scale based nondimensional groups for mapping transitions between regimes in capillary break-up experiments. Physical Review Fluids, 5(5), [051901].

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Simulations of rigid particles suspended in two-phase shear flow are presented, where one of the suspending fluids is viscoelastic, whereas the other is Newtonian. The Cahn–Hilliard diffuse-interface model is employed for the fluid–fluid interface, which can naturally describe the interactions between the particle and the interface (e.g., particle adsorption). It is shown that particles can migrate across streamlines of the base flow, which is due to the surface tension of the fluid–fluid interface and a difference in normal stresses between the two fluids. The particle is initially located in the viscoelastic fluid, and its migration is investigated in terms of the Weissenberg number Wi (shear rate times relaxation time) and capillary number Ca (viscous stress over capillary stress). Four regimes of particle migration are observed, which can roughly be described by migration away from the interface for Wi = 0, halted migration toward the interface for low Wi and low Ca, particle adsorption at the interface for high Wi and low Ca, and penetration into the Newtonian fluid for high Wi and high Ca. It is found that the angular velocity of the particle plays a large role in determining the final location of the particle, especially for high Wi. From morphology plots, it is deduced that the different dynamics can be described well by considering a balance in the first-normal stress difference and Laplace pressure. However, it is shown that other parameters, such as the equilibrium contact angle and diffusion of the fluid, are also important in determining the final location of the particle.

Bubble suspensions can be found in many different fields and studying their rheology is crucial in order to improve manufacturing processes. When bubbles are added to a liquid, the magnitude of the viscosity changes and the behavior of the material is modified, giving it viscoelastic properties. For the purpose of this work, the suspended bubbles are considered to be monodisperse. It is assumed that Brownian motion and inertia can be neglected and that the fluid of the matrix is Newtonian and incompressible. The suspension is subject to an oscillatory strain while remaining in the linear regime. The resulting equations are solved in 3D with direct numerical simulation using a finite element discretization. Results of an ordered and random distribution of bubbles of volume fractions up to 40% are presented. The presence of bubbles has an opposite effect on the rheology of the suspension depending on the applied frequency. When the frequency is low, bubbles act as rigid fillers giving a rise to viscosity. On the contrary, when the frequency is high, the strain rate is being accommodated by the gaseous phase. Hence, bubbles deform, leading to a decrease of the viscosity.

Depending on the application, one needs to either stabilize or destabilize the interfacial properties of an emulsion. An aspect of the dynamics that governs the stability of emulsions in general is the drainage time of the film that is formed when two drops collide. In this work, we study the effect that viscoelasticity of the matrix fluid has on this drainage time of two Newtonian drops that perform a head-on collision under an applied macroscopic extensional rate. For the modeling of the viscoelastic matrix material, the Giesekus model is chosen. A cylindrical coordinate system is applied with imposed axisymmetry and the resulting equations are solved using fully resolved numerical simulations employing a finite element discretization. Our results show that viscoelasticity reduces the drainage time, which is a combined effect of three different stages.