Volume fractions, emulsions, effect aggregates

The interaction between the dispersed-phase elements at high volume fractions has an impact on breakup and aggregation, which is not well understood. For example, Elemans et al. (1997) found that when closely spaced stationary threads break by the growth of capillary instabilities, the disturbances on adjacent threads are half a wavelength out of phase (Fig. 43), and the rate of growth of the instability is smaller. Such interaction effects may have practical applications, for example, in the formation of monodisperse emulsions (Mason and Bibette, 1996). 

FIGURE 17.20 The effect of filler particles on gel properties, (a) Relative modulus (Gm/G0) as a function of particle volume fraction (broken lines are calculated for various values of the ratio Gp/Go, indicated near the curves. The drawn lines are average experimental values for acid casein gels (C) and polymer gels (polyvinyl alcohol, P), with emulsion droplets that are either bonded (B) or nonbonded (N) to the gel matrix, (b) Highly schematic pictures of the gel structure. Shaded area denotes primary gel. Particles are nonbonded (1) bonded (2) bonded but with intermediate layer (3) bonded and aggregated (4). (Adapted from T. van Vliet. Colloid Polymer Sci. 266 (1988) 518.)... 

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