Design of a transparent co-and counter-rotating eccentric Couette cell dedicated to study the interfacial flow behavior of viscous fluids under free surface shear

Description

In the present work, a prototype was developed to observe the flow behavior of viscous fluids (10^3 to 10^5 Pa.s) under free surface shear. The geometry of the prototype is an eccentric Couette cell where both cylinders can rotate in the same or opposite directions. Transparent windows permit in-situ observations during flow. The design, development and testing of the prototype with a viscous model fluid are reported in this paper. In order to obtain information on contact lines and free surfaces under shear, the flow behaviour of a small fluid volume was investigated in co-and counter-rotating conditions. The different flow conditions and information that can be obtained are described. A particular attention is paid to determine steady state flow conditions.

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