A review of immiscible fluid mixing

This paper reviews the most significant developments in the understanding of the process of mixing of a dispersed fluid phase in a continuous fluid phase which have been published since 1934. The review starts from the simplest experimental condition of a single drop in a simple shear field; it then continues to consider the influence of third components such as surfactants, and the effect of other mixing variables such as droplet interactions. The two most commonly found styles of droplet break-up are presented and what are considered to be the key areas of established understanding of the mixing process are summarised.