Curvature Induced Improvement In Mixing Performance

Abstract

Mass and heat transfer are well studied fundamental engineering principles with established relationships between them. Owing to experimental errors and uncertainties, heat transfer studies have been primarily conducted using numerical tools and analytical models. By studying mass transfer behavior, heat transfer characteristics can be obtained through existing correlation. Through this study we aim to understand the mixing performance in various curvature based designs namely a spiral channel, serpentine, saw tooth, square curve, U shaped and simple curved channel, all with a square cross section of hydraulic diameter 600μm. This was conducted through both numerical and experimental investigation over a Reynolds number range of 10-200 for both cases. From this work it can be concluded that a spiral channel is able to generate superior mixing performance in comparison to other curvature designs due to an increase in Dean strength along the channel length from inlet to the outlet. Spiral channels have also been found to be more advantageous due to their low pressure drop and reduced footprint area in comparison to the other curvature designs making it more favorable for microchip device integration. This experiment based investigation would also enable us to tailor micromixer and heat sink designs based on application.