Modeling of Particle Migration inside Vibration Bubbles in Bubble-Stretching Dispersion Method

Abstract

Bubble-stretching based dispersion method can be used to prevent the agglomeration of nanoparticles during the process of preparing nanocomposites, whereas its effectiveness is restricted by the practically low migration ratio of particles onto the bubble wall. Theoretical models for bubble vibration and particle migration have been presented, followed by numerically study on effects of different parameters on migration ratio of particles on to the bubble wall. The numerical results have shown that bubble initial radius, bubble initial pressure and particle diameters impact the particle migration ratio obviously and it is found that the particle migration ratio can be improved effectively through the optimal control of the vibration parameters of the bubble happed in the dispersion process. Therefore, this article provides a theoretical basis for the efforts on increasing the particles migration ratio and thus the dispersion effectiveness of nanoparticles in polymer melt.