Characteristics of gas-liquid Taylor flow with different liquid viscosities in a rectangular microchannel.

• The effect of liquid viscosity (0.89–45.6 mPa·s) on Taylor flow is investigated. • Higher viscosity leads to more stable instantaneous flow rate during formation stage. • The film thickness at short planes are much larger than predicted in literature. • A distinct bubble shape with sharpened rear cap is observed. • A correlation representing the effect of recirculation on pressure drop is proposed. Characteristics of gas-liquid Taylor flow with different liquid viscosities are investigated in a rectangular microchannel, aiming at providing knowledge and aid in the design of processes involving viscous fluid, such as polymers and ionic liquids. The effect of liquid viscosity on the bubble formation dynamic, film thickness, bubble velocity, and pressure drop is investigated. The results reveal a specific viscous effect compared to those in square or circular channels. For the same capillary number, both the liquid film thickness at the corners and at the short planes are much larger than in square channels. New correlations are proposed for predicting the film thickness in the rectangular channel. The bubble shape sheared by the liquid phase is also distinct from literature observations that a smaller radius occurs at the rear cap. For the conditions studied (0.00065 < Ca < 0.0525), increasing the viscosity leads to an increase in the instantaneous flow rate, and also an later shift from filling stage to squeezing stage. As the bubble formation is driven by both squeezing pressure and shearing force, the bubble/slug length is affected by both capillary number and flow rate ratio. The recirculation inside liquid slugs is found to play an important role in the pressure drop, which can be well described by an empirical correlation including dimensionless liquid slug length and capillary number. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]