A Micromixer with Two-Layer Crossing Microchannels Based on PMMA Bonding Process

Author(s):  
Jibo Wang ◽  
Guojun Liu ◽  
Xinbo Li ◽  
Fang He ◽  
Xiang Ma

AbstractA micromixer with two-layer crossing microchannels based on PMMA bonding process was proposed. The micromixer consists of two-layer crossing microchannels and periodic mixing chambers. The numerical simulation and parameters optimization of the micromixer were carried out in a Reynolds number range of 0.5–100 using CFD software, and the prototype of micromixer was manufactured by PMMA bonding process under certain temperature and pressure condition. The mixing performance of the micromixer was tested and verified by the mixing experiments using red-blue dye. Both the numerical and experimental results confirmed that the micromixer achieves an excellent mixing characteristics over a wide range of Reynolds numbers through generating Dean vortices and chaotic advection. At the same time, the PMMA bonding process proposed in this paper has certain application value and reference significance for expanding the application of three-dimensional flow channels in the field of microfluidics.

Author(s):  
Md. Readul Mahmud

The fluids inside passive micromixers are laminar in nature and mixing depends primarily on diffusion. Hence mixing efficiency is generally low, and requires a long channel length and longtime compare to active mixers. Various designs of complex channel structures with/without obstacles and three-dimensional geometries have been investigated in the past to obtain an efficient mixing in passive mixers. This work presents a design of a modified T mixer. To enhance the mixing performance, circular and hexagonal obstacles are introduced inside the modified T mixer. Numerical investigation on mixing and flow characteristics in microchannels is carried out using the computational fluid dynamics (CFD) software ANSYS 15. Mixing in the channels has been analyzed by using Navier–Stokes equations with water-water for a wide range of the Reynolds numbers from 1 to 500. The results show that the modified T mixer with circular obstacles has far better mixing performance than the modified T mixer without obstacles. The reason is that fluids' path length becomes longer due to the presence of obstacles which gives fluids more time to diffuse. For all cases, the modified T mixer with circular obstacle yields the best mixing efficiency (more than 60%) at all examined Reynolds numbers. It is also clear that efficiency increase with axial length. Efficiency can be simply improved by adding extra mixing units to provide adequate mixing. The value of the pressure drop is the lowest for the modified T mixer because there is no obstacle inside the channel. Modified T mixer and modified T mixer with circular obstacle have the lowest and highest mixing cost, respectively. Therefore, the current design of modified T with circular obstacles can act as an effective and simple passive mixing device for various micromixing applications.


Micromachines ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 10 (11) ◽  
pp. 786 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ramezan Ali Taheri ◽  
Vahabodin Goodarzi ◽  
Abdollah Allahverdi

This paper presents experimental and numerical investigations of a novel passive micromixer based on the lamination of fluid layers. Lamination-based mixers benefit from increasing the contact surface between two fluid phases by enhancing molecular diffusion to achieve a faster mixing. Novel three-dimensional split and recombine (SAR) structures are proposed to generate fluid laminations. Numerical simulations were conducted to model the mixer performance. Furthermore, experiments were conducted using dyes to observe fluid laminations and evaluate the proposed mixer’s characteristics. Mixing quality was experimentally obtained by means of image-based mixing index (MI) measurement. The multi-layer device was fabricated utilizing the Xurography method, which is a simple and low-cost method to fabricate 3D microfluidic devices. Mixing indexes of 96% and 90% were obtained at Reynolds numbers of 0.1 and 1, respectively. Moreover, the device had an MI value of 67% at a Reynolds number of 10 (flow rate of 116 µL/min for each inlet). The proposed micromixer, with its novel design and fabrication method, is expected to benefit a wide range of lab-on-a-chip applications, due to its high efficiency, low cost, high throughput and ease of fabrication.


2012 ◽  
Vol 696 ◽  
pp. 228-262 ◽  
Author(s):  
A. Kourmatzis ◽  
J. S. Shrimpton

AbstractThe fundamental mechanisms responsible for the creation of electrohydrodynamically driven roll structures in free electroconvection between two plates are analysed with reference to traditional Rayleigh–Bénard convection (RBC). Previously available knowledge limited to two dimensions is extended to three-dimensions, and a wide range of electric Reynolds numbers is analysed, extending into a fully inherently three-dimensional turbulent regime. Results reveal that structures appearing in three-dimensional electrohydrodynamics (EHD) are similar to those observed for RBC, and while two-dimensional EHD results bear some similarities with the three-dimensional results there are distinct differences. Analysis of two-point correlations and integral length scales show that full three-dimensional electroconvection is more chaotic than in two dimensions and this is also noted by qualitatively observing the roll structures that arise for both low (${\mathit{Re}}_{E} = 1$) and high electric Reynolds numbers (up to ${\mathit{Re}}_{E} = 120$). Furthermore, calculations of mean profiles and second-order moments along with energy budgets and spectra have examined the validity of neglecting the fluctuating electric field ${ E}_{i}^{\ensuremath{\prime} } $ in the Reynolds-averaged EHD equations and provide insight into the generation and transport mechanisms of turbulent EHD. Spectral and spatial data clearly indicate how fluctuating energy is transferred from electrical to hydrodynamic forms, on moving through the domain away from the charging electrode. It is shown that ${ E}_{i}^{\ensuremath{\prime} } $ is not negligible close to the walls and terms acting as sources and sinks in the turbulent kinetic energy, turbulent scalar flux and turbulent scalar variance equations are examined. Profiles of hydrodynamic terms in the budgets resemble those in the literature for RBC; however there are terms specific to EHD that are significant, indicating that the transfer of energy in EHD is also attributed to further electrodynamic terms and a strong coupling exists between the charge flux and variance, due to the ionic drift term.


2017 ◽  
Vol 825 ◽  
pp. 631-650 ◽  
Author(s):  
Francesco Romanò ◽  
Arash Hajisharifi ◽  
Hendrik C. Kuhlmann

The topology of the incompressible steady three-dimensional flow in a partially filled cylindrical rotating drum, infinitely extended along its axis, is investigated numerically for a ratio of pool depth to radius of 0.2. In the limit of vanishing Froude and capillary numbers, the liquid–gas interface remains flat and the two-dimensional flow becomes unstable to steady three-dimensional convection cells. The Lagrangian transport in the cellular flow is organised by periodic spiralling-in and spiralling-out saddle foci, and by saddle limit cycles. Chaotic advection is caused by a breakup of a degenerate heteroclinic connection between the two saddle foci when the flow becomes three-dimensional. On increasing the Reynolds number, chaotic streamlines invade the cells from the cell boundary and from the interior along the broken heteroclinic connection. This trend is made evident by computing the Kolmogorov–Arnold–Moser tori for five supercritical Reynolds numbers.


Author(s):  
Shakhawat Hossain ◽  
Mubashshir Ahmad Ansari ◽  
Afzal Husain ◽  
Kwang-Yong Kim

In this study, a parametric investigation on mixing of two fluids in a modified Tesla microchannel, has been preformed. Modified Tesla micromixer applies both flow separation and vortices string principles to enhance the mixing. The fluid stream splits into two sub-streams and one of them mixes with the other again at the exit of the Tesla unit. Analyses of mixing and flow field have been carried out for a wide range of Reynolds number from 0.05 to 40. Mixing performance and pressure drop characteristics with two geometrical parameters, i.e, ratio of the diffuser gap to channel width (h/w) and ratio of the curved gap to the channel width (s/w), have been analyzed at six different Reynolds numbers. The vortical structure of the flow has been analyzed to explain mixing performance. The sensitivity analysis reveals that mixing is more sensitive s/w, than the h/w.


Micromachines ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 11 (5) ◽  
pp. 455 ◽  
Author(s):  
Wasim Raza ◽  
Shakhawat Hossain ◽  
Kwang-Yong Kim

A wide range of existing passive micromixers are reviewed, and quantitative analyses of ten typical passive micromixers were performed to compare their mixing indices, pressure drops, and mixing costs under the same axial length and flow conditions across a wide Reynolds number range of 0.01–120. The tested micromixers were selected from five types of micromixer designs. The analyses of flow and mixing were performed using continuity, Navier-Stokes and convection-diffusion equations. The results of the comparative analysis were presented for three different Reynolds number ranges: low-Re (Re ≤ 1), intermediate-Re (1 < Re ≤ 40), and high-Re (Re > 40) ranges, where the mixing mechanisms are different. The results show a two-dimensional micromixer of Tesla structure is recommended in the intermediate- and high-Re ranges, while two three-dimensional micromixers with two layers are recommended in the low-Re range due to their excellent mixing performance.


Micromachines ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 11 (7) ◽  
pp. 695 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yunxia Wang ◽  
Yong Zhang ◽  
Zheng Qiao ◽  
Wanjun Wang

Homogeneous mixing of microscopic volume fluids at low Reynolds number is of great significance for a wide range of chemical, biological, and medical applications. An efficient jet mixer with arrays of micronozzles was designed and fabricated using additive manufacturing (three-dimensional (3D) printing) technology for applications in centrifugal microfluidic platforms. The contact surface of miscible liquids was enhanced significantly by impinging plumes from two opposite arrays of micronozzles to improve mixing performance. The mixing efficiency was evaluated and compared with the commonly used Y-shaped micromixer. Effective mixing in the jet mixer was achieved within a very short timescale (3s). This 3D printed jet mixer has great potential to be implemented in applications by being incorporated into multifarious 3D printing devices in microfluidic platforms.


2016 ◽  
Author(s):  
Guilherme Feitosa Rosetti ◽  
Guilherme Vaz ◽  
André Luís Condino Fujarra

The cylinder flow is a canonical problem for Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD), as it can display several of the most relevant issues for a wide class of flows, such as boundary layer separation, vortex shedding, flow instabilities, laminar-turbulent transition and others. Several applications also display these features justifying the amount of energy invested in studying this problem in a wide range of Reynolds numbers. The Unsteady Reynolds Averaged Navier Stokes (URANS) equations combined with simplifying assumptions for turbulence have been shown inappropriate for the captive cylinder flow in an important range of Reynolds numbers. For that reason, recent improvements in turbulence modeling has been one of the most important lines of research within that issue, aiming at better prediction of flow and loads, mainly targeting the three-dimensional effects and laminar-turbulent transition, which are so important for blunt bodies. In contrast, a much smaller amount of work is observed concerning the investigation of turbulent effects when the cylinder moves with driven or free motions. Evidently, larger understanding of the contribution of turbulence in those situations can lead to more precise mathematical and numerical modeling of the flow around a moving cylinder. In this paper, we present CFD calculations in a range of moderate Reynolds numbers with different turbulence models and considering a cylinder in captive condition, in driven and in free motions. The results corroborate an intuitive notion that the inertial effects indeed play very important role in determining loads and motions. The flow also seems to adapt to the motions in such a way that vortices are more correlated and less influenced by turbulence effects. Due to good comparison of the numerical and experimental results for the moving-cylinder cases, it is observed that the choice of turbulence model for driven and free motions calculations is markedly less decisive than for the captive cylinder case.


2019 ◽  
Vol 141 (12) ◽  
Author(s):  
Bayode E. Owolabi ◽  
David J. C. Dennis ◽  
Robert J. Poole

In this study, we examine the development length requirements for laminar Couette–Poiseuille flows in a two-dimensional (2D) channel as well as in the three-dimensional (3D) case of flow through a square duct, using a combination of numerical and experimental approaches. The parameter space investigated covers wall to bulk velocity ratios, r, spanning from 0 (purely pressure-driven flow) to 2 (purely wall driven-flow; 4 in the case of a square duct) and a wide range of Reynolds numbers (Re). The results indicate an increase in the development length (L) with r. Consistent with the findings of Durst et al. (2005, “The Development Lengths of Laminar Pipe and Channel Flows,” ASME J. Fluids Eng., 127(6), pp. 1154–1160), L was observed to be of the order of the channel height in the limit as Re→0, irrespective of the condition at the inlet. This, however, changes at high Reynolds numbers, with L increasing linearly with Re. In all the cases considered, a uniform velocity profile at the inlet was found to result in longer entry lengths than in a flow developing from a parabolic inlet profile. We show that this inlet effect becomes less important as the limit of purely wall-driven flow is approached. Finally, we develop correlations for predicting L in these flows and, for the first time, also present laser Doppler velocimetry (LDV) measurements of the developing as well as fully-developed velocity profiles, and observe good agreement between experiment, analytical solution, and numerical simulation results in the 3D case.


2011 ◽  
Vol 57 (205) ◽  
pp. 811-816 ◽  
Author(s):  
Emilie Zermatten ◽  
Sophia Haussener ◽  
Martin Schneebeli ◽  
Aldo Steinfeld

AbstractA tomography-based methodology for the mass transport characterization of snow is presented. Five samples, characteristic for a wide range of seasonal snow, are considered. Their three-dimensional (3-D) geometrical representations are obtained by micro-computed tomography and used in direct pore-level simulations to numerically solve the governing mass and momentum conservation equations, allowing for the determination of their effective permeability and Dupuit–Forchheimer coefficient. The extension to the Dupuit–coefficient is useful near the snow surface, where Reynolds numbers higher than unity can appear. Simplified semi-empirical models of porous media are also examined. The methodology presented allows for the determination of snow’s effective mass transport properties, which are strongly dependent on the snow microstructure and morphology. These effective properties can, in turn, readily be used in snowpack volume-averaged (continuum) models such as strongly layered samples with macroscopically anisotropic properties.


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