Boundary condition induced passive chaotic mixing in straight microchannels

Abstract

When fluids flow through straight channels sustained turbulence occurs only at high Reynolds numbers [typically Re∼O(1000)]. It is difficult to mix multiple fluids flowing through a straight channel in the low Reynolds number laminar regime [Re<O(100)] because in the absence of turbulence, mixing between the component fluids occurs primarily via the slow molecular diffusion process. This Letter reports a simple way to significantly enhance the low Reynolds number (in our case Re≤10) passive microfluidic flow mixing in a straight microchannel by introducing asymmetric wetting boundary conditions on the floor of the channel. We show experimentally and numerically that by creating carefully chosen two-dimensional hydrophobic slip patterns on the floor of the channels, we can introduce stretching, folding, and/or recirculation in the flowing fluid volume, the essential elements to achieve mixing in the absence of turbulence. We also show that there are two distinctive pathways to produce homogeneous mixing in microchannels induced by the inhomogeneity of the boundary conditions. It can be achieved either by (1) introducing stretching, folding and twisting of fluid volumes, i.e., via a horse-shoe type transformation map, or (2) by creating chaotic advection, achieved through manipulation of the hydrophobic boundary patterns on the floor of the channels. We have also shown that by superposing stretching and folding with chaotic advection, mixing can be optimized in terms of significantly reducing mixing length, thereby opening up new design opportunities for simple yet efficient passive microfluidic reactors.