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.