DYNAMICS OF DROPS IN CAVITY FLOWS - AGGREGATION OF HIGH-VISCOSITY RATIO DROPS

The interactions of deformable drops in cavity flows is studied numeri cally in the limit of low Reynolds numbers for a two-dimensional model . Flow in a square cavity is driven by the steady motion of one of the walls. Deformable drops will migrate across streamlines until they re ach an equilibrium trajectory or equilibrium position; the rate and di rection of migration depend on both the viscosity ratio and capillary number. High viscosity ratio deformable drops have a tendency to aggre gate and form clusters. The presence of a deformable dispersed phase r esults in an elastic behavior of the suspension. (C) 1996 American Ins titute of Physics.