Highly efficient droplet generation device based on a three-dimensional fractal structure

Abstract

In this paper, a three-dimensional axisymmetric fractal structure device was proposed for massive production of monodisperse droplets. Its channel number could increase to nm for an m-stage fractal device with n-channel distributors. A fractal device with 36 channels was constructed, and the droplet generation experiment was carried out. The experiment showed that the coefficient of variations (CVs) of the generated droplets were all lower than 4.0% at four different flow rates. Additionally, the relationship between the mass flow rate and fractal structure variation was examined through theoretical and data regression analysis. To elaborate the overall structure deviation, the accumulated deviation was introduced, the formula of accumulated deviation and droplet size was given. The results showed that the droplet products were highly monodisperse. The droplet size deviation was within 2% when the accumulated deviation of dispersed- and continuous-phase distributors was less than 4% and 10%, respectively.