Design and fabrication of a vigorous \u201ccavitation-on-a-chip\u201d device with a multiple microchannel configuration

Farzad Rokhsar Talabazar,Hongjian Chen,Ali Koşar,Merve Zuvin,Morteza Ghorbani,Moein Talebian Gevari,Mohammad Jafarpour,Luis Guillermo Villanueva,Dmitry Grishenkov

doi:10.1038/s41378-021-00270-1

Abstract

Hydrodynamic cavitation is one of the major phase change phenomena and occurs with a sudden decrease in the local static pressure within a fluid. With the emergence of microelectromechanical systems (MEMS), high-speed microfluidic devices have attracted considerable attention and been implemented in many fields, including cavitation applications. In this study, a new generation of ‘cavitation-on-a-chip’ devices with eight parallel structured microchannels is proposed. This new device is designed with the motivation of decreasing the upstream pressure (input energy) required for facile hydrodynamic cavitation inception. Water and a poly(vinyl alcohol) (PVA) microbubble (MB) suspension are used as the working fluids. The results show that the cavitation inception upstream pressure can be reduced with the proposed device in comparison with previous studies with a single flow restrictive element. Furthermore, using PVA MBs further results in a reduction in the upstream pressure required for cavitation inception. In this new device, different cavitating flow patterns with various intensities can be observed at a constant cavitation number and fixed upstream pressure within the same device. Moreover, cavitating flows intensify faster in the proposed device for both water and the water–PVA MB suspension in comparison to previous studies. Due to these features, this next-generation ‘cavitation-on-a-chip’ device has a high potential for implementation in applications involving microfluidic/organ-on-a-chip devices, such as integrated drug release and tissue engineering.

Highlights

1234567890():,; 1234567890():,; 1234567890():,; 1234567890():,; Introduction Hydrodynamic cavitation (HC) is a phase change phenomenon involving a liquid and commences when the static pressure drops to a critical value—the saturation vapor pressure
This study presents a new generation of cavitation-ona-chip microfluidic devices with the facile generation of cavitation inside structured multiple parallel microchannels configurations
Cavitation inception and the cavitating flow morphology inside this microfluidic device were investigated for both working fluids

Summary

Introduction

Hydrodynamic cavitation (HC) is a phase change phenomenon involving a liquid and commences when the static pressure drops to a critical value—the saturation vapor pressure. This phenomenon includes a progressive vaporization cycle of the generation, growth, and implosion of bubbles. Small bubbles form in low-pressure zones, typically at the entrance of a flow restrictive element. Inertial cavitation bubbles grow in a successive cycle until they reach a high-pressure area, where they collapse. Its extensive applications at the microscale are emerging, such as wastewater treatment[8], biomedical applications[9,10,11], energy harvesting[12,13], and liquid phase exfoliation[14]

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