Time-resolved mixing and flow-field measurements during droplet formation in a flow-focusing junction

Highly monodispersed emulsions can be produced in microfluidic flow-focusing junctions (Anna et al 2003 Appl. Phys. Lett. 82 364-6, Baroud et al 2010 Lab Chip 10 2032-45). This is the reason why many industrial processes in the medical industry among others are based on droplet manipulation and involve at some point a step of dripping within a junction. However, only a few studies have focused on the flow field inside and outside the droplet, even though it is a necessary step for understanding the physical mechanism involved and for modeling the droplet formation process. Water-in-oil emulsions are produced in flow-focusing junctions of square cross sections. The fluids constituting the emulsion are (i) a 5.0 mPa.s silicon oil for the oil phase and (ii) distilled water containing 2.0 wt% of sodium dodecyl sulfate surfactant for the aqueous phase. Time-resolved shadow particle images are acquired using a microscale particle image velocimetry (mu PIV) system and flow fields are calculated using an adaptive PIV algorithm in combination with dynamic masking. Inside the microchannel and in the permanent regime, the droplet has an internal circulation that has been well established by Sarrazin et al (AICHE J. 52 4061-70). But during the formation of a droplet in a flow-focusing junction, the flow field is not so well known, and the circulation in the finger flows forward along the sides and returns along the center. The mechanism can be described in terms of four distinct steps: droplet growth, necking, rupture, and recoil. The liquid expelled from the neck just before rupture is also well observed. The flow field and mixing are measured in detail during a complete cycle of formation of a main droplet and satellite droplets using high-speed imaging. This allows us to develop a better understanding of the different forces that are present and of the physical mechanism of droplet formation.