Agglomerate Breakup of Destabilized Polystyrene Particles under a Cross-Channel Planar Extensional Flow

Deformation and breakup of a single agglomerate exposed to pure planar extensional flow in a cross-channel were experimentally investigated. Aggregation was generated by applying shear with destabilized polystyrene particles, and the fractal dimension, d f, of the agglomerate was 2.25. The aggregation focused on the center of the channel by sheath flow was rotated while approaching stagnant point. Then, the aspect ratio increased as it deformed close to the stagnant point. The probability of the breakup and the fragment distribution were dependent upon the viscosity and flow rate and were superimposed on a master curve as a function of applied stress. With the increase in stress, the projected area of the fragment that was split by the flow decreased with a power-law relationship, and the exponent was in agreement with the model prediction.