Hardt S., Schönfeld F., Weise F., Hofmann C., Ehrfeld W.
Institut für Mikrotechnik, DE
Keywords: droplet formation, free surface flows, micromixers
Droplet formation in micromixers developed by the Institute of Microtechnology Mainz (IMM) is investigated by methods of computational fluid dynamics (CFD). The CFD results are compared to experimental data obtained with transparent micromixers made from photosensitive glass. Preceding the 3D simulations, the decay of liquid cylinders is studied as a test case. Subsequently, the flow patterns of a binary system of immiscible liquids in a interdigital micromixer are investigated. It is found that in case of equal volume flows the simulation results on the decay wavelength and on droplet and lamellae diameters agree very well with experimental data. However, the agreement between simulations and experiments is less convincing in the case of a 1:4 volume flow ratio. Further and more detailed studies for a broader range of operation and material parameters are ongoing.
Journal: TechConnect Briefs
Volume: 1, Technical Proceedings of the 2001 International Conference on Modeling and Simulation of Microsystems
Published: March 19, 2001
Pages: 223 - 226
Industry sector: Sensors, MEMS, Electronics
Topic: Micro & Bio Fluidics, Lab-on-Chip
ISBN: 0-9708275-0-4