Influence of Dispersed-Phase Viscosity on Droplet Breakup in a Continuous Pump-Mixer

The influence of dispersed-phase viscosity on droplet breakup in a pump-mixer was determined using a direct measurement approach, which was performed using a high-speed online camera. The experimental results show that the interfacial stress and internal viscous stress can be applied to characterize the influence of the interfacial tension and dispersed-phase viscosity on drop breakup, respectively. The daughter droplet size presents a bell-shaped distribution and is slightly dependent on the drop restoring stress. An empirical correlation of the drop breakup frequency function is established to include the influence of the dispersed-phase viscosity. Moreover, the new correlation reveals a clear physical relationship between the variables of physical properties and hydraulic parameters, which strengthens its extensibility when applied to other systems or equipment.