The dynamics of capillary-driven two-phase flow: the role of nanofluid structural forces

Capillary-driven flows are fundamental phenomena and are involved in many key technological processes, such as oil recovery through porous rocks, ink-jet printing, the bubble dynamics in a capillary, microfluidic devices and labs on chips. Here, we discuss and propose a model for the oil displacement dynamics from the capillary by the nanofluid (which is composed of a liquid suspension of nanoparticles); we elucidate the physics of the novelty of the phenomenon and its application. The oil displacement by the nanofluid flow is a multi-stage phenomenon, first leading to the oil film formation on the capillary wall, its break-up, and retraction over the capillary wall; this lead to the formation of the oil double concave meniscus. With time, the process repeats itself, leading to the formation of a regular "necklace" of oil droplets inside the capillary. Finally, the oil droplets are separated by the nanofluid film from the capillary wall. The light reflected differential interferometry technique is applied to investigate the nanofluid interactions with the glass wall. We find nanoparticles tend to self-structure into multiple layers close to the solid wall, which cause the structural forces to arise that lead to the oil displacement from the capillary. This research is expected to benefit the understanding of nanofluid phenomena in a capillary and promote their use in technological applications.