Mixing and recirculation characteristics of gas-liquid Taylor flow in microreactors

The effects of operating parameters (capillary and Reynolds numbers) and microchannel aspect ratio (α=w/h=[1;2.5;4]) on the recirculation characteristics of the liquid slug in gas-liquid Taylor flow in microchannels have been investigated using 3-dimensional VOF simulations. The results show a decrease in the recirculation volume in the slug and an increase in recirculation time with increasing capillary number, which is in good agreement with previous results obtained in circular and square geometries (Thulasidas et al., 1997). In addition, increasing the aspect ratio of the channel leads to a slight decrease in recirculating volumes but also a significant increase in recirculation times.