Tese: Flow of a capsule suspended in a Newtonian liquid through a constricted channel and capillary
Aluno(a) : José Francisco Roca ReyesOrientador(a): Márcio Carvalho
Área de Concentração: Termociências
Data: 23/02/2021
Link para tese/dissertação: https://doi.org/10.17771/PUCRio.acad.52296
Resumo: The flow of capsules suspended in a liquid phase through small channels and capillaries poses a complex problem presented in different applications, from red blood cells on hemodynamics to flow in porous media. In porous media applications, the understanding of micro-scale dynamics is fundamental to assess the macroscopic flow behavior. Constricted channels and capillaries can be used to model a pore-throat connecting two adjacent pore-bodies. The flow of a suspended capsule through such models was analyzed to evaluate the flow characteristics, including the maximum pressure difference required to push a capsule through the constriction as a function of capsule radius, initial membrane tension, membrane material, channel and capillary geometries, as well as flow conditions. Inner and outer liquid phases were described by the Navier-Stokes equations and capsule membrane dynamics was modeled by a 1-D spring-like flexible structure. The fluid-structure interaction problem was solved using the finite element method coupled with the immersed boundary method. Results showed the mobility reduction of the continuous phase due to the presence of a capsule as it flows through the constriction. Such results can be used to design microcapsules to block preferential water flow paths in oil displacement process in porous media.