Experimental study of Taylor bubble flow in non-Newtonian liquid in a rectangular microchannel

The flow characteristics of gas and non-Newtonian fluid in a rectangular T-microchannel with cross sec-tion of 150 lm x 50 lm are experimentally studied. Four flow patterns are observed, including bubble flow, Taylor flow, transitional flow and annular flow. The effects of two-phase flowrate, the CMC/SDS con-centration, and microchannel size on the flow pattern maps and Taylor bubble/liquid slug length are compared. The bubble length increases with gas/liquid flowrates ratio, whilst the change of slug length is opposite. The bubble length decreases with liquid viscosity or surface tension. The slug length increases with the liquid viscosity, but decreases with surface tension. Experimental data is analyzed in relation-ship to JG/JL, Re and Ca using dimensional analysis. Two empirical equations are given respectively to pre-dict the Taylor bubble/slug lengths. Predictions are largely consistent with the experimental results with maximum 25% variance. This provides an important reference for the controllable operation of two-phase flow in rectangular microchannels. (C)& nbsp;2022 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Automated summary

The flow characteristics of gas and non-Newtonian fluid in a rectangular T-microchannel were experimentally studied, and four flow patterns were observed. The effects of various parameters on the flow patterns and Taylor bubble/liquid slug length were compared. Empirical equations were established to predict the Taylor bubble/slug lengths, and the predictions were largely consistent with the experimental results.