Laminar liquid-liquid dispersion in the SMX static mixer

A two-stage breakup model has been developed relating D43 to the capillary number. The model uses the concept that primary drops are formed near the entry to the mixer, with a size determined by the spacing between the cross bars in the element. They are then further broken up by a hydrodynamic mechanism based on an energy balance between the energy input due to the viscous flow, and the surface energy increase due to the breakup of the primary drops. This model provides an approximate basis for correlating the data on D43.