The role of interfacial tension in colloid retention and remobilization during two-phase flow in a polydimethylsiloxane micro-model

Abstract

The work presented here consisted of steady-state and transient two-phase flow experiments on the role of interfacial tension in colloid transport. Experiments were performed in a polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) micro-model containing a network of pores with a mean pore size of 30 µm. The flow network covered an area of 1 mm × 10 mm. Water and Fluorinert FC43 were used as the two immiscible liquids. Since PDMS is a hydrophobic material, Fluorinert was the wetting phase, and water was the non-wetting phase in this micro-model. The interfacial tension was changed by adding a Fluorinert-soluble surfactant into Fluorinert FC43 to change the interfacial tension from 55 mN/m to 30 mN/m. The colloids were fluorescent carboxylate-modified polystyrene microspheres and 300 nm in diameter. We directly observed colloid movement using confocal microscopy. We also obtained colloid concentration breakthrough curves by measuring the fluorescent intensities in the outlet of the micro-model. The breakthrough curves showed that during steady-state unsaturated flow, fewer colloids were retained in the system when interfacial tension was lower. During transient flow, more colloids were remobilized by the moving Fluorinert-water interfaces (FWIs) and Fluorinert-water-solid contact lines (FWSCs) under high interfacial tension. Visualization results showed that, at low interfacial tension, the fluid-fluid interfaces were almost flat; thus, less interfacial area was available for colloid attachment. Generally, confocal images and measured breakthrough curves clearly demonstrate the effect of interfacial tension on colloid retention and remobilization.