| Abstract: | A computer-controlled four-roll mill was used to investigate the deformation and break-up of polymeric drops in the well-characterized flow of an immiscible Newtonian fluid. Aqueous polymer solutions ranging in concentration from 160 ppm to 3% by weight were examined. For zero-shear-rate viscosity ratios greater than order 1, the deformation of the drops closely followed that of Newtonian fluids, irrespective of the droplet material. However, drops with viscosity ratios less than order 1 had significantly smaller critical deformations and the critical capillary number was found to be substantially smaller. Two modes of drop break-up were discovered that differed substantially from that observed for Newtonian drops in the inclusion of cusped ends and tip streaming. |
