Liquid dispersions under gravity: volume fraction profile and osmotic pressure
Abstract
Many physical properties of concentrated dispersions of immiscible fluids are captured by the concept of an osmotic pressure, which measures how much energy is required to deform the bubbles or drops upon compaction. This pressure has a strong impact on the flow and drainage behavior of dispersions. Nevertheless, theoretical models describing its variation with the volume fraction ϕ of the continuous phase are so far available only in the limits of low or high ϕ and