8th Liquid Matter Conference September 6-10, 2011 Wien, Austria ...

Tue 611:23-14:00P9.19Modifying deformation properties of droplets - particlesversus surfactantsStefan Frijters, 1 Jens Harting, 1 and Florian Günther 11 Eindhoven University of Technology, Leeghwaterstraat 260, 5612 JL, Eindhoven,NetherlandsTraditionally, enhanced oil recovery processes often employ surfactants to improve oil yield. Inthis project, nanoparticles are considered as an alternative to these surfactants. To determine inwhich ways these particles might be useful we need to understand how they modify the propertiesof a droplet of fluid suspended in another fluid. We present a simulation algorithm based on a multicomponentlattice Boltzmann model to describe the solvents combined with a molecular dynamicssolver for the description of the solved particles. We have the ability to tune numerous relevantparameters of the system, such as particle sizes and wettability and surface tensions between thefluids and we use this ability to study the behaviour of fluid droplets stabilized by particles whensubjected to shear. We then consider how these effects compare to those of surfactants.19