Dispersion Flow in Microchannels

The work is devoted to experimental investigations of the features of flow of dispersions in microchannels. The paper consists of three parts. In the first part the flow of emulsions in smooth contracting cylindrical microchannels is investigated. It is received that a significant role at dynamic blocking of channels is played by the inclusions comparable by size to the diameter of a narrowing. This is in spite of the fact that their influence on the change of a flow rate of emulsion before blocking is insignificant. In the second part the generation of emulsion in a complex structure of microchannels (micromodels) when water is displaced by composition of hydrocarbon with surfactants is investigated. The experimental dependences of the rheological characteristics of emulsions based on the composition of SAS and water at different concentrations of the aqueous phase can explain blocking of a porous structure by generated emulsion. In the third part a comparison of flow of water-in-oil emulsions with the suspension which was obtained by freezing the microdroplets of the aqueous phase of emulsions was studied. It was found that the blocking of suspension is not as complete as in the case of emulsion. It is explained by deformation of the droplets and by formation of a dense structure, as opposed to suspension of beads, through which hydrocarbon phase is filtered. A small increase in effective viscosity due to solidification of freezing droplets of the dispersed phase was found.