Multiphase microflow interfacial force

In flowing systems, the complex interplay between interfacial, gravitational, viscous and inertial forces is responsible for a variety of phase distributions and flow patterns. The dominant interfadal forces combined with the laminar nature of the flow result in very regularly shaped gas-liquid and liquid-liquid interfaces characteristic of multiphase microflows. Courbin et al. described dynamic wetting morphologies of a flat surface that is microstructured with a forest of posts upon droplet impact [44], Eijkel and co-workers [42, 48] provided a more general review of surface tension effects in the context of nanofluidic systems. The importance of interfadal forces with respect to gravity is described by the dimensionless Bond number. 

Role of Interfacial Force on Multiphase Microflow—An Important Meso-Scientific Issue... 

An understanding of multiphase microflows is critical for the development and application of microstructured chemical systems in the chemical industry. As one of the most important meso-scientific issues, interfacial science could be a bridge connecting microscopic molecular components and macroscopic fluid behaviors in these systems. Working together with viscous and inertial forces, the interfacial force also dominates complicated multiphase flow patterns and well-controlled droplets and bubbles. In this review, the generation mechanisms of different flow patterns and the break-up rules for droplets and bubbles in microchannels are introduced first. The effects of the adjustable fluid/solid interfaces, or so-called wetting properties, of microchannels on multiphase flow patterns, as well as microchannel surface modification methods, are then discussed. The dynamic fluid/fluid interfaces in multiphase microflows with variable... 

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