Numerical study of fluid mixing at different inlet flow-rate ratios in Tear-drop and Chain micromixers compared to a new H-C passive micromixer

Vladimir Viktorov,Md Readul Mahmud,Carmen Visconte

doi:10.1080/19942060.2016.1140075

Vladimir Viktorov, Md Readul Mahmud + Show 1 more

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.1080/19942060.2016.1140075

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Abstract

ABSTRACTA new split and recombine (SAR) passive micromixer, namely the H-C mixer, is presented. The performance of the micromixer is analyzed numerically at Reynolds numbers up to 100, varying the inlet flow-rate ratio. In order to validate the numerical model, tests for an inlet flow-rate ratio of 1 were carried out on the new H-C micromixer along with the established Tear-drop and Chain micromixers for comparison, and good correspondence was found between the differently obtained data. Contrary to the Tear-drop and Chain micromixers, the H-C micromixer exhibited a mixing efficiency greater than 90% independent of Reynolds numbers. In particular, no noticeable dependence on inlet flow-rate ratio was observed. Furthermore, the pressure drop along the H-C mixer was found to be lower than those along the already known mixers.

Highlights

Developing efficient micromixers and understanding the mechanism of the mixing of fluids are the main focuses of research in the microfluidic field (Ansari, Kim, & Kim, 2010)
The aim of this study was to examine the performance of Tear-drop, Chain and H-C micromixers using different inlet flow-rate ratios for Reynolds numbers from 1 to 100
In order to validate the numerical model, experimental tests were performed on all three mixers at an inlet flow-rate ratio of 1 for Reynolds numbers varying from 1 to 100

Summary

Introduction

Developing efficient micromixers and understanding the mechanism of the mixing of fluids are the main focuses of research in the microfluidic field (Ansari, Kim, & Kim, 2010). Convection and diffusion are the basic mechanisms which permit fluid mixing in mixers (Liu, Deng, Zhang, Liu, & Wu, 2013). At the micro scale, molecular diffusion prevails while convection is limited; in the case of a simple mixer at low Reynolds numbers, mixing by diffusion would require a very long channel and too much time (Zhang, Hu, & Wu, 2012). In order to speed up the process, the contact area between the fluids to be mixed has to be increased (Bothe, Stemich, & Warnecke, 2006, 2008) and the fluids have to be repeatedly stretched, compressed, split and recombined, so as to obtain a multi-lamellae arrangement

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