Abstract
In this work, a comparative investigation of chaotic flow behavior inside multi-layer crossing channels was numerically carried out to select suitable micromixers. New micromixers were proposed and compared with an efficient passive mixer called a Two-Layer Crossing Channel Micromixer (TLCCM), which was investigated recently. The computational evaluation was a concern to the mixing enhancement and kinematic measurements, such as vorticity, deformation, stretching, and folding rates for various low Reynolds number regimes. The 3D continuity, momentum, and species transport equations were solved by a Fluent ANSYS CFD code. For various cases of fluid regimes (0.1 to 25 values of Reynolds number), the new configuration displayed a mixing enhancement of 40%–60% relative to that obtained in the older TLCCM in terms of kinematic measurement, which was studied recently. The results revealed that all proposed micromixers have a strong secondary flow, which significantly enhances the fluid kinematic performances at low Reynolds numbers. The visualization of mass fraction and path-lines presents that the TLCCM configuration is inefficient at low Reynolds numbers, while the new designs exhibit rapid mixing with lower pressure losses. Thus, it can be used to enhance the homogenization in several microfluidic systems.
Highlights
Mass transfer induced by different fluid concentrations is generally applied in kinematic processes that involve the dynamic transport of chemical species within physical technology
The role of mass transfer is a subject of interest for many researchers who have given solutions to enhance the kinematic behavior and fluid mixing performance while reducing pressure drops
To characterize mixing efficiency with secondary flows, researchers use a different parameter focused on both fluid homogenization and fluid kinematic behavior for active [17] and passive mixers [18,19,20] called Local Physical Process (LPP) or kinematic measurements
Summary
Mass transfer induced by different fluid concentrations is generally applied in kinematic processes that involve the dynamic transport of chemical species within physical technology. To characterize mixing efficiency with secondary flows, researchers use a different parameter focused on both fluid homogenization and fluid kinematic behavior for active [17] and passive mixers [18,19,20] called Local Physical Process (LPP) or kinematic measurements. They analyzed the behavior of the fluid in motion by calculating elongation, vorticity, helicity, stretching, and folding rates for different flow regimes. Kinematic measurements of new chaotic micromixers at low Reynolds numbers are investigated in detail
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