Effect of slip on circulation inside a droplet

Abstract

Internal recirculation in a moving droplet plays an important role in several droplet-based microfluidic devices as it enhances mixing, chemical reaction and heat transfer. The occurrence of fluid slip at the wall, which becomes prominent at high shear rates and lower length scales, results in a significant change in droplet circulation. Using molecular dynamics (MD) simulations, the presence of circulation in droplets is demonstrated and quantified. Circulation is shown to vary inversely with slip length, which is a measure of interface wettability. A simple circulation model is established that captures the effect of slip on droplet circulation. Scaling parameters for circulation and slip length are identified from the circulation model which leads to the collapse of data for droplets with varying aspect ratio (AR) and slip length. The model is validated using continuum and MD simulations and is shown to be accurate for droplets with high AR.