Numerical Analysis of Rapid Micromixers Utilizing Magnetic Particles
Performances of a magnetic particle driven micromixer are predicted numerically. This micromixer takes advantages of mixing enhancements induced by alternating actuation of magnetic particles suspended in the fluid. Effects of the magnetic actuation force, switching frequency and channel’s lateral dimension have been investigated. Numerical results show that the magnetic particle actuation at an appropriate frequency causes effective mixing. The optimum switching frequency depends on the channel’s lateral dimension and the applied magnetic force. The optimum switching frequency obtained from the present numerical prediction is in good agreement with the theoretical analysis. The proposed simple mixing scheme not only provides an excellent mixing, even in simple microchannel, but also can be easily applied to “lab-on-a-chip” applications with a pair of external electromagnets.