Droplet generation in a microchannel with a controllable deformable wall

Abstract

We report the droplet generation behavior of a microfluidic droplet generator with a controllable deformable membrane wall using experiments and analytical model. The confinement at the droplet generation junction is controlled by using external pressure, which acts on the membrane, to generate droplets smaller than junction size (with other parameters fixed) and stable and monodispersed droplets even at higher capillary numbers. A non-dimensional parameter, i.e., controlling parameter K p, is used to represent the membrane deformation characteristics due to the external pressure. We investigate the effect of the controlled membrane deformation (in terms of K p), viscosity ratio λ and flow rate ratio r on the droplet size and mobility. A correlation is developed to predict droplet size in the controllable deformable microchannel in terms of the controlling parameter K p, viscosity ratio λ and flow rate ratio r. Due to the deflection of the membrane wall, we demonstrate that the transition from the stable dripping regime to the unstable jetting regime is delayed to a higher capillary number Ca (as compared to rigid droplet generators), thus pushing the high throughput limit. The droplet generator also enables generation of droplets of sizes smaller than the junction size by adjusting the controlling parameter.