title: Field-induced breakup of emulsion droplets stabilized by colloidal particles.
abstract: We simulate the response of a particle-stabilized emulsion droplet in an external force field, such as gravity, acting equally on all N particles. We show that the field strength required for breakup (at fixed initial area fraction) decreases markedly with droplet size, because the forces act cumulatively, not individually, to detach the interfacial particles. The breakup mode involves the collective destabilization of a solidified particle raft occupying the lower part of the droplet, leading to a critical force per particle that scales approximately as N(-1/2).
authors.affiliation: Max-Planck-Institute for Intelligent Systems, Heisenbergstrasse 3, 70569 Stuttgart, Germany.
authors.forename: E Grace
authors.initials: EG
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.forename: Kevin
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Stratford
authors.forename: Paul S
authors.initials: PS
authors.lastname: Clegg
authors.forename: Michael E
authors.initials: ME
authors.lastname: Cates
mesh_terms: D003102:Colloids / Q000737:chemistry*; D003198:Computer Simulation; D004655:Emulsions / Q000737:chemistry*; D006112:Gravitation; D008956:Models, Chemical
chemical_list: D003102:Colloids; D004655:Emulsions