Numerical investigation on the efficient mixing of overbridged split-and-recombine micromixer at low Reynolds number

Abstract

It is promising to design a novel structured micromixer that can be easily processed but also exhibit high mixing efficiency as well as low pressure drop at a wide range of Reynolds numbers. The overbridged structure was introduced into the planner E-shape micromixers for the first time to construct a novel kind of bridge-street structure micromixer, in order to improve the mixing efficiency in the wide range of Reynolds number. We investigated numerically the mixing performance of six overbridged E-shape split-and-recombine micromixers via solving 3D Navier–Stokes equations and adopting species transfer model. It is indicated that at lower Reynolds number the tilted interface in the overbridged channel increases the interfacial area and improves the mass transfer efficiency, while at higher Reynolds number the overbridged channels tend to induce vortices and promote the convective diffusion. The results show that the optimal overbridged micromixer DBEM-3 has excellent mixing efficiency exceeding 95% in the range of Re = 0.5–100. The optimal structure of overbridged micromixer was studied further with different viscosity ratio and power law fluid. In addition, the pressure drop under various Reynolds number was calculated, and the pressure drop of the power law fluid was represented by Euler number to reflect the magnitude of the momentum loss rate. It is illustrated that DBEM-3 has excellent mixing efficiency in wide Reynolds number for three different fluid systems, which has promising applications in the biochemistry analysis or mixing systems.