Abstract
Laminar fluid flow and advection-dominant transport produce ineffective mixing conditions in micromixers. In these systems, a desirable fluid mixing over a short distance may be achieved using special geometries in which complex flow paths are generated. In this paper, a novel design, utilizing semi-circular ridges, is proposed to improve mixing in micro channels. Fluid flow and scalar transport are investigated employing Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) tool. Mixing dynamics are investigated in detail for alternative designs, injection, and diffusivity conditions. Results indicate that the convex alignment of semi-circular elements yields a specific, helicoidal-shaped fluid flow along the mixing channel which in turn enhances fluid mixing. In all cases examined, homogenous concentration distributions with mixing index values over 80% are obtained. When it is compared to the classical T-shaped micromixer, the novel design increases mixing index and mixing performance values by the factors of 8.7 and 3.3, respectively. It is also shown that different orientations of ridges adversely affect the mixing efficiency by disturbing the formation of helicoidal-shaped flow profile.
Highlights
During the past few decades, design of the micro-scale systems field has attracted researchers from various disciplines of science
Micromixers are usually considered as one of the major components of microfluidic systems [10,13] which are commonly defined as micro total analysis systems or lab-on-a-chip (LOC) devices [6,14]
We propose a simple, yet effective and novel micromixer design in which all the aforementioned factors are substantially minimized
Summary
During the past few decades, design of the micro-scale systems field has attracted researchers from various disciplines of science. This is essentially due to numerous advantages of size reduction and extensive applicability of these systems in diverse academic and industrial platforms. While serving as an integrated mixing element in miniaturized systems, micromixers can be used as a stand-alone device [8]. Passive micromixers use the energy in the flow system in micro channels and present better integrability with microfluidic systems. The prominent benefits of passive micromixers have motivated several researchers to focus on improving the mixing performance and reduce mixing length in these units
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