Electric field modulated deformation dynamics of a compound drop in the presence of confined shear flow

Abstract

Dynamics of compound drops is central in several emerging applications including emulsion-fueled direct injection, targeted drug delivery, and the development of mechano-sensitive artificial cells. These applications are commonly hallmarked by high shear rates in confined fluidic environments. In the present work, we depict the role of the transverse electric field in controlling the resulting morpho-dynamics, including non-monotonic topological evolution and pinch-off phenomenon. In a tightly confined domain, we further show that the critical value of the electric field for triggering the pinch-off phenomenon may be greatly reduced as compared to larger-sized conduits. Finally, we portray a non-trivial variation of the drop pinch-off time with the degree of domain confinement, as attributed to the complex electro-hydrodynamic coupling over small scales. These results may turn out to be critical in manipulating the shape evolution of bio-mimetic soft matter in physiologically relevant fluidic pathways and on-chip applications.