(179v) Immiscible Phase Mixing and Reaction in Taylor-Couette-Poiseuille Flow

Taylor-Couette flow allows for examining hydrodynamic instabilities while stimulating vortex motion, offering a highly active interface for mass transfer, and phase mixing.  Mixing between immiscible hydrocarbon-water mixtures in Taylor-Couette-Poiseuille flow was examined by assessing the effects of varying the Taylor number, axial flow rate, fluid viscosity, surface tension and volume fraction on the range of distinct flow patterns that can be identified. The various flow regimes were investigated using flow visualization and laser sheet illumination techniques.

Experiments were also carried out to study the transport and reaction during water- hydrocarbon mixing with varying operational parameters and several reactor geometries, with differing gap widths and aspect ratios. Within the resolution of the experiments, it was found that certain flow transitions were subcritical, exhibiting hysteresis, while others remained stable. Specifically, quasi-static acceleration rates of the inner cylinder were found to be critical in generating specific flow patterns at their corresponding Taylor numbers.