Abstract
It is of great importance to characterize the deformation of droplets in various polymer processing. In the present paper, as a basic study, the deformation of a non-Newtonian or Newtonian droplet dispersed in a Newtonian medium in pipe flow was analyzed using the finite element method(FEM). Numerical simulations were extensively performed on this two-phase flow and the results were presented in terms of droplet size, viscosity ratio, and Ca number for both the non newtonian and Newtonian droplets. In particular, the effects of non-Newtonian droplets on deformation were intensively discussed in comparison with those of Newtonian droplets on deformation were intensively discussed in comparison with those of Newtonian droplets. The effect of non-Newtonian droplet in deformation increased with increasing Ca number, droplet size, and viscosity ratio. Moreover, non-Newtonian droplets under the assumption of the present rheological model produced smaller deformation than the corresponding Newtonian droplet(λ=2.04) for the given droplet size and Ca number.