Jetting of a shear banding fluid in rectangular ducts

Non-Newtonian fluids are susceptible to flow instabilities such as shear banding, in which the fluid may exhibit a markedly discontinuous viscosity at a critical stress. Here we report the characteristics and causes of a jetting flow instability of shear banding wormlike micelle solutions in microfluidic channels with rectangular cross sections over an intermediate volumetric flow regime. Particle-tracking methods are used to measure the three-dimensional flow field in channels of differing aspect ratios, sizes, and wall materials. When jetting occurs, it is self-contained within a portion of the channel where the flow velocity is greater than the surroundings. We observe that the instability forms in channels with aspect ratio greater than 5, and that the location of the high-velocity jet appears to be sensitive to stress localizations. Jetting is not observed in a lower concentration solution without shear banding. Simulations using the Johnson-Segalman viscoelastic model show a qualitatively similar behavior to the experimental observations and indicate that compressive normal stresses in the cross-stream directions support the development of the jetting flow. Our results show that nonuniform flow of shear thinning fluids can develop across the wide dimension in rectangular microfluidic channels, with implications for microfluidic rheometry.