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A numerical assessment of the suitability of microfluidic hyperbolic contraction-expansion geometries for extensional viscosity measurements

Event Type
Seminar/Symposium
Sponsor
Department of Mechanical Science and Engineering
Virtual
wifi event
Date
Mar 5, 2021   12:00 pm  
Speaker
Professor Rob Poole, Harrison Chair of Mechanical Engineering and the Head of Department for Mechanical, Materials and Aerospace Engineering in the School of Engineering, University of Liverpool (UK
Contact
Lindsey Henson
E-Mail
lrh@illinois.edu
Phone
217-300-8238
Views
79
Originating Calendar
MechSE Seminars

Abstract

Microfluidic contraction devices have been proposed for extensional rheometry measurements, in particular as a useful method for determining the extensional viscosity of low elasticity solutions. The first commercially avail- able “Extensional Viscometer-Rheometer-On-a-Chip ”(e-VROC TM), developed by Rheosense, is a hyperbolically- shaped contraction/expansion geometry which incorporates pressure-drop measurement capabilities. To better understand the underlying flow kinematics within this geometry we have conducted a numerical study performing three-dimensional numerical simulations for both Newtonian and viscoelastic fluids. For the viscoelastic fluids the simplified Phan-Thien and Tanner (sPTT) and the Finitely Extensible Nonlinear Elastic models (FENE-P) are employed, in order to investigate the efficiency of this configuration in terms of increasing Weissenberg numbers and to understand the effects of various model parameters on the flow field. Our Newtonian fluid results suggest that the e-VROC TM geometry produces only a small region of extensional flow and is mainly shear-dominated, potentially suggesting any pressure-drop measurements from this device may be related to viscoelastic first normal- stress differences developed via a combination of shear and extension, rather than solely pure extension. By a careful selection of the sPTT and FENE-P model parameters, such that steady-state viscometric properties in homogeneous flows are matched, we are able to show that a small enhanced pressure-drop is seen for both models, which is larger for the FENE-P model"

Bio

"Professor Rob Poole is currently the Harrison Chair of Mechanical Engineering and the Head of Department for Mechanical, Materials and Aerospace Engineering in the School of Engineering, University of Liverpool (UK).  He has has active research in viscoelastic fluid flows and rheology, experimental fluid mechanics for turbulent flows and those involving heat transfer.  He is particular interested in so-called purely-elastic instabilities and turbulent drag-reduction by additives.  He is currently co-editor of the Journal of Non-Newtonian Fluid Mechanics (JNNFM) and co-host of the weekly virtual JNNFM Complex Fluids Seminar Series (details can be found here: http://pcwww.liv.ac.uk/~robpoole/jnnfm/jnnfm_seminar.htm)"

Hosts:  Professors Randy Ewoldt and Charles Schroeder 

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