Interfacial Dynamics in Displacement Flows of Entangled Polymeric Fluids
Bamin Khomami (University of Tennessee, USA), Arash Abedijaberi (University of Tennessee, USA), and Eric Shaqfeh (Stanford University, USA)
Displacement flows are omnipresent in a broad class of multiphase flows and are of tremendous practical applications in many fields such as gas assisted injected molding, enhanced oil recovery, production of hollow fiber membranes, and coating of substrates. This project integrates advances in polymer physics, viscoelastic fluid mechanics and computational science to develop a mechanistic understanding of interfacial dynamics in displacement flows of linear and branched polymeric melts. Several specific issues will be investigated. First, a comprehensive experimental investigation will be performed of the influence of polymer concentration and architecture on the interfacial dynamics of prototypical air-fluid displacement flows. Also, direct simulations will examine the interfacial instability of prototypical air-fluid displacement flows of linear and branched entangled polymeric solutions. Finally, the influence of thermal effects will be examined (i.e., coupling of viscous heating and the thermal sensitivity of the fluid) on interfacial dynamics of prototypical air-fluid displacement flows of linear and branched entangled polymeric solutions.