Microchannel reactors hydrodynamics

Kashid and Agar (2007) investigated the effects of various operating conditions on pressure drop in a PTFE microchannel reactor with a Y-junction as mixing zone. They developed a theoretical prediction for pressure drop based on the capillary pressure and the hydrodynamic pressure drop without the presence of a continuous film and for a constant contact angle between the dispersed plug and the channel wall (Fig. 2.11a). 

Liquid-liquid flows in small channels are quite challenging due to the wide variation of physical properties of the two phases. It was found that hydrodynamics in small scale channels are strongly related to the performance of the reactor. The first step would be to develop accurate predictive tools for the hydrodynamics within the small scale devices. The generation of a unified theory for the prediction of flow patterns, which should be independent of the fluid and the microchannel characteristics and correlate the flow regimes using the relative forces responsible as well as the smface properties, should be investigated with more parametric studies. The absence of this kind of theory lies on the fact that most investigations have... 

---