Abstract
The work presents an efficient and non-invasive method to visualize the local concentration and viscosity distribution of two miscible and non-reacting substances with a significant viscosity difference in a microchannel with a Y-shape cell. The proof-of-concept setup consists of a near-infrared (NIR) camera and cost-effective dome lighting with NIR light-emitting diodes (LED) covering the wavelength range of 1050 to 1650 nm. Absorption differences of glycerol and water and their mixtures with a mass fraction of glycerol from 0 to 0.95 were analyzed in the NIR spectral area. The resulting measurement images were converted in a concentration profile by using absorbance calculated with Lambert–Beer law. A linear behavior between the concentration and the absorption coefficient is demonstrated. The result of local concentration in mass fraction was used to determine the local viscosity and illustrated as distribution images. By variating the fluid parameters, the influences of the highly different original viscosities in the mixing procedure were investigated and visualized.
Highlights
During the last few years, the application of micro-structured components for process engineering has gained increasing importance in chemical, pharmaceutical, and life sciences
Concentration profiles and an indirect calculation of viscosity were investigated by using a new approach of near-infrared imaging with an optical measurement method to evaluate the mixing process of fluids with very different properties, such as water and glycerol, in a cell with a Y shape and by using the Lambert–Beer law for comprehensive absorbance analyses
The contributions based on an analysis that contributionspresent presenta aproof-of-concept-study proof-of-concept-study based on imaging an imaging analysis allows investigating the mixing of widely differing fluids with regard their viscosity
Summary
During the last few years, the application of micro-structured components for process engineering has gained increasing importance in chemical, pharmaceutical, and life sciences. These components vary in size, but all devices can be fabricated in configurations scaled in millimeters and embedded with micrometer-sized channels. An extremely high surface-to-volume ratio characterizes microchannel-based devices because of their small linear dimensions. Due to this property, they gain most of their advantages over conventional-sized chemical process equipment [2]. A Y-shaped mini-channel was selected to verify the measurement using a basic geometry with a distinct observation of the fluids in the inlet of the channel
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