Transient deformation of a droplet near a microfluidic constriction : a quantitative analysis

TL;DR

This paper demonstrates how precise numerical modeling combined with microfluidic experiments allows for accurate measurement of interfacial tension and deformation dynamics of droplets, enabling quantitative in-situ rheology.

Contribution

It introduces a method integrating experimental deformation data with numerical flow modeling to measure interfacial tension in microfluidic droplet flows.

Findings

Numerical modeling is essential for accurate stress estimation on droplets.

The method enables robust measurement of interfacial tension.

Quantitative in-situ rheology is feasible in microfluidic flows.

Abstract

We report on experiments that consist in deforming a collection of monodisperse droplets produced by a microfluidic chip through a flow-focusing device. We show that a proper numerical modelling of the flow is necessary to access the stress applied by the latter on the droplet along its trajectory through the chip. This crucial step enables the full integration of the differential equation governing the dynamical deformation, and consequently the robust measurement of the interfacial tension by fitting the experiments with the calculated deformation. Our study thus demonstrates the feasibility of quantitative in-situ rheology in microfluidic flows involving e.g. droplets, capsules or cells.