Performance optimization of droplet formation and break up within a microfluidic device – Numerical and experimental evaluation

Abstract

Droplet-based microfluidics, including the controlled manipulation of materials in the form of monodisperse droplets on the micrometer scale in microfluidic chips, has gained much attention due to their ability in biological assays. The capillary number of the continuous phase, as the ratio of viscous force and interfacial tension, is so important in the mechanism of droplet formation. This study aims to survey the type of continuous-phase fluid, the change in the parameters of the continuous phase, and the effect of the different flow rates ratios on the droplet formation dynamics, droplet size, distance between droplets and frequency of droplet formation. Three types of oil, including mineral, olive, and paraffin in a flow-focusing microfluidic device have been utilized numerically and experimentally. To characterize the parameters of the continuous phase affecting the droplet size, a microfluidic device has been designed to estimate of the droplet size for three different types of oil used in the assay. The results show that for a constant continuous phase velocity, the diameter of the droplets formed in olive oil has the lowest amount, followed by paraffin and mineral oil, respectively. Regarding the effects of oil type on the frequency of droplet formation and the distance between droplets, the rate of droplet formation in mineral oil, in the ratios of the variable flow rate and the constant continuous phase velocity, is the lowest and, the distance between the droplets has the highest level.