Slip of Newtonian Fluid on the Polymer Gel Surface

Abstract

Slip of Newtonian fluid in (0.80 and 0.40 mm diameter) intact and modified PVA hydrogel tubes was studies. In this experiment, the slip is inferred by observing the motion of micron-sized spherical monodispersed polystyrene particles suspended in the flowing water by using an optical microscope from very low to medium flow rate. The particle velocity was estimated by both particle tracking (PT) and particle image deformation (PID) method and the slip velocity was measured by extrapolating the experimental data of the velocity profiles on the gel surfaces. Microscopic measurements reveals that the slip velocities on the hydrogel surfaces depend on the chemical nature of the hydrogel surfaces and it is proportional to Reynolds number.