The surface tells it all: relationship between volume and surface fraction of liquid dispersions.
basic_science · Level V
Where this comes from
- Record sourced from PubMed, PMID 27714354.
- No licence information is recorded for this record.
- Because redistribution is not established, this page shows the abstract only. Follow the links below for the full text.
Abstract
The properties of liquid dispersions, such as foams or emulsions, depend strongly on the volume fraction ϕ of the continuous phase. Concentrating on the example of foams, we show experimentally and theoretically that ϕ may be related to the fraction ϕ<sub>s</sub> of the surface at a wall which is wetted by the continuous phase - given an expression for the interfacial energy or osmotic pressure of the bulk system. Since the surface fraction ϕ<sub>s</sub> can be readily determined from optical measurement and since there are good general approximations available for interfacial energy and osmotic pressure we thus arrive at an advantageous method of estimating ϕ. The same relationship between ϕ and ϕ<sub>s</sub> is also expected to provide a good approximation of the fraction of the bubble or drop surface which is wetted by the continuous phase. This is a parameter of great importance for the rheology and ageing of liquid dispersions.