Mechanism for Flow-Rate Controlled Breakup in Confined Geometries: A Route to Monodisperse Emulsions

Piotr Garstecki, Howard A. Stone, and George M. Whitesides
Phys. Rev. Lett. 94, 164501 – Published 27 April 2005
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Abstract

This Letter describes a quasistationary breakup of an immiscible, inviscid fluid at low capillary numbers. The breakup proceeds in a coflowing, viscous liquid, in a confined geometry of a long and narrow orifice. In contrast to the capillary instability in an unbounded fluid, the collapse proceeds through a series of equilibria, each yielding the minimum interfacial energy of the fluid-fluid interface. The process is slow in comparison to typical relaxation speeds of the interface, and it is reversible. Its quasistatic character of collapse forms the basis for controlled, high-throughput generation of monodisperse fluid dispersions.

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  • Received 23 June 2004

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevLett.94.164501

©2005 American Physical Society

Authors & Affiliations

Piotr Garstecki1,*, Howard A. Stone2, and George M. Whitesides1,†

  • 1Chemistry and Chemical Biology Department, Harvard University, 12 Oxford Street, Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA
  • 2Division of Engineering and Applied Sciences, Harvard University, 29 Oxford Street, Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA

  • *Electronic address: pgarstecki@gmwgroup.harvard.edu
  • Electronic address: gwhitesides@gmwgroup.harvard.edu

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Vol. 94, Iss. 16 — 29 April 2005

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