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Capillarity in Fluid

Capillarity in Fluid

Capillarity describes the movement of liquid in small spaces without external forces acting on it. The capillarity is driven by surface tension and adhesive interactions between the liquid and surrounding solid surfaces. This effect is often seen in narrow tubes, porous materials, and fine particles.
Surface tension is crucial to capillarity. It results from cohesive forces between liquid molecules at the liquid-air boundary, forming a skin that resists external forces. When the capillary tube...

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Swelling of Diffusive Fluid Threads in Microchannels.

Thomas Cubaud¹

¹Department of Mechanical Engineering, Stony Brook University, Stony Brook, New York 11794, USA.

Physical Review Letters

|November 6, 2020

Summary

This summary is machine-generated.

Viscous fluid threads swell in microchannels due to diffusion and lubrication effects. A new model predicts critical flow rates and diffusion coefficients for miscible solvent systems.

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Area of Science:

Fluid dynamics
Microfluidics
Physical chemistry

Background:

Understanding fluid behavior in microchannels is crucial for various applications.
Miscible fluid interactions at small scales present unique challenges.
Previous models often simplify the complex interplay of diffusion and hydrodynamics.

Purpose of the Study:

To experimentally investigate the dynamics of viscous fluid threads flowing with miscible solvents in microchannels.
To develop a model for predicting diffusive behavior of viscosity-differing fluids at the microscale.
To determine critical flow rates and diffusion coefficients for oil-solvent systems.

Main Methods:

Experimental investigation in square microchannels.
Bounded function analysis of confined thread diameter.
Application of dynamic similarity principles.

Main Results:

Diffusive fluid threads exhibit significant swelling at low flow velocities.
A critical flow rate was identified for each fluid pair.
Diffusion coefficients between oils and organic solvents were calculated.
Thread divergence was linked to diffusion layer growth and buckling instabilities.

Conclusions:

Hydrodynamic lubrication and large specific interfacial area drive thread swelling.
The developed model accurately captures diffusive behavior in microscale flows.
Diffusion coefficients can be reliably calculated using dynamic similarity.
Understanding diffusion-induced instabilities is key for controlling fluid thread behavior.