Liquid Transfer for Viscoelastic Solutions

TL;DR

This study investigates how various parameters affect liquid transfer in viscoelastic solutions during capillary bridge stretching, revealing that polymer content and viscosity influence transfer efficiency and shape stability.

Contribution

It provides experimental insights into the effects of polymer concentration, viscosity, and shape on liquid transfer in viscoelastic solutions, highlighting differences between Newtonian and viscoelastic behaviors.

Findings

Higher polymer mass fraction reduces liquid transfer.

Increased viscosity decreases liquid transfer.

Newtonian and viscoelastic solutions behave oppositely in transfer dynamics.

Abstract

Viscoelastic liquid transfer from one surface to another is a process that finds applications in many technologies, primarily in printing. Here, cylindrical shaped capillary bridges pinned between two parallel disks are considered. Specifically, the effects of polymer mass fraction, solution viscosity, disk diameter, initial aspect ratio, final aspect ratio, stretching velocity and filling fraction (alike contact angle) are experimentally investigated in uniaxial extensional flow. Both Newtonian and viscoelastic polymer solutions are prepared using polyethylene glycol (PEG) and polyethylene oxide (PEO), with a wide variety of mass fractions. The results show that the increase in polymer mass fraction and solvent viscosity reduces the liquid transfer to the top surface. Moreover, the increase in the initial and final stretching height of the capillary bridge also decreases the liquid transfer, for both Newtonian and viscoelastic solutions. Finally, the shape of the capillary bridge is varied by changing the liquid volume. Now, Newtonian and viscoelastic solutions exhibit opposite behaviors for the liquid transfer. These findings are discussed in terms of interfacial shape instability and gravitational drainage.