A novel passive micromixer based on unbalanced splits and collisions of fluid streams

Ansari, Mubashshir Ahmad; Kim, Kwang‐Yong; Anwar, Khalid; Kim, Sun Min

doi:10.1088/0960-1317/20/5/055007

Cited by 156 publications

(97 citation statements)

References 29 publications

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“…However, the use of flow constrictions requires higher pumping power due to the high pressure drop. Unbalanced splits and cross-collisions of fluid streams were investigated numerically and experimentally by Ansari et al [27]. Their results demonstrate that mixing performance is maximized when the width of the major sub-channel is twice that of the minor sub-channel, and the lowest mixing performance is obtained for equal sub-channel widths.…”

Section: Open Accessmentioning

confidence: 99%

Mixing Analysis of Passive Micromixer with Unbalanced Three-Split Rhombic Sub-Channels

Hossain

Kim

2014

Micromachines

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Abstract:A micromixer with unbalanced three-split rhombic sub-channels was proposed, and analyses of the mixing and flow characteristics of this micromixer were performed in this work. Three-dimensional Navier-Stokes equations in combination with an advection-diffusion model with two working fluids (water and ethanol) were solved for the analysis. The mixing index and pressure drop were evaluated and compared to those of a two-split micromixer for a range of Reynolds numbers from 0.1-120. The results indicate that the proposed three-split micromixer is efficient in mixing for a range of Reynolds numbers from 30-80. A parametric study was performed to determine the effects of the rhombic angle and sub-channel width ratio on mixing and pressure drop. Except at the lowest Reynolds number, a rhombic angle of 90° gave the best mixing performance. The three-split micromixer with minimum minor sub-channel widths provided the best mixing performance.

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Section: Open Accessmentioning

confidence: 99%

Mixing Analysis of Passive Micromixer with Unbalanced Three-Split Rhombic Sub-Channels

Hossain

Kim

2014

Micromachines

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“…In the last decade, for better mixing efficiency, many researchers have made great effort to develop various types of passive micromixers composed of 2-D curved channel with radial baffles, 23 2-D cylindrical grooves adjoining to the main straight channel 24 and 2-D structures based on the concept of the splitting and recombination. [25][26][27][28] These micromixers did exhibit high performance at high flow rates, but at a low level the channel geometries cannot result in obvious vortices or chaotic advection and the contact surface between the streams are usually vertical without rotation and expansion, so these micromixers are not effective at lower Reynolds number unless these micromixers have a longer mixing length.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

An effective splitting-and-recombination micromixer with self-rotated contact surface for wide Reynolds number range applications

2013

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It is difficult to mix two liquids on a microfluidic chip because the small dimensions and velocities effectively prevent the turbulence. This paper describes two 2-layer PDMS passive micromixers based on the concept of splitting and recombining the flow that exploits a self-rotated contact surface to increase the concentration gradients to obtain fast and efficient mixing. The designed micromixers were simulated and the mixing performance was assessed. The mixers have shown excellent mixing efficiency over a wide range of Reynolds number. The mixers were reasonably fabricated by multilayer soft lithography, and the experimental measurements were performed to qualify the mixing performance of the realized mixer. The results show that the mixing efficiency for one realized mixer is from 91.8% to 87.7% when the Reynolds number increases from 0.3 to 60, while the corresponding value for another mixer is from 89.4% to 72.9%. It is rather interesting that the main mechanism for the rapid mixing is from diffusion to chaotic advection when the flow rate increases, but the mixing efficiency has not obvious decline. The smart geometry of the mixers with total length of 10.25 mm makes it possible to be integrated with many microfluidic devices for various applications in l-TAS and Lab-on-a-chip systems. V C 2013 AIP Publishing LLC.

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“…They reported that the mixing was improved due to the multidirectional vortices include Dean and separation vortices. Mixing of water and ethanol in a new passive micromixer based on the concept of unbalanced splits and cross-collisions of fluid streams were studied numerically and experimentally by Ansari et al (2010). The main channel was split into two sub-channels that subsequently recombine after a certain distance and the width of two sub-channels could be unequal.…”

Section: Nomenclaturementioning

confidence: 99%

Enhancement of Mixing Performance of Non-Newtonian Fluids using Curving and Grooving of Microchannels

Islami

Khezerloo

2017

JAFM

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In this study, a numerical investigation was performed on the mixing of non-Newtonian power-law fluids in curved micromixers with power-law indices between 0.49 and 1 and Reynolds numbers between 0.1-300. The properties of water and CMC solution were used for simulation of Newtonian and non-Newtonian fluid flows, respectively. The effects of grooves embedded on the bottom wall of micromixers and geometrical parameters such as depth and angle of grooves on mixing performance were examined. The mixing of nonNewtonian fluids using this kind of micromixers has not been studied before. Eventually, using of inclined grooves with 30° inclination angle was studied. Open source CFD code of OpenFOAM was utilized to simulate the mixing process. The results showed that the grooves caused chaotic advection and improved the mixing performance but had no significant effect on dimensionless pressure drop. Also, the grooves with 30• angle showed better mixing index for all values of power-law indices.

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A novel passive micromixer based on unbalanced splits and collisions of fluid streams

Cited by 156 publications

References 29 publications

Mixing Analysis of Passive Micromixer with Unbalanced Three-Split Rhombic Sub-Channels

Mixing Analysis of Passive Micromixer with Unbalanced Three-Split Rhombic Sub-Channels

An effective splitting-and-recombination micromixer with self-rotated contact surface for wide Reynolds number range applications

Enhancement of Mixing Performance of Non-Newtonian Fluids using Curving and Grooving of Microchannels

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