Drag-induced breakup mechanism for droplet generation in dripping within flow focusing microfluidics

doi:10.1016/j.cjche.2014.09.043

Chin.J.Chem.Eng. ›› 2015, Vol. 23 ›› Issue (1): 7-14.DOI: 10.1016/j.cjche.2014.09.043

• FLUID DYNAMICS AND TRANSPORT PHENOMENA • Previous Articles Next Articles

Drag-induced breakup mechanism for droplet generation in dripping within flow focusing microfluidics

Ping Wu¹, Zhaofeng Luo², Zhifeng Liu¹, Zida Li¹, Chi Chen³, Lili Feng¹, Liqun He¹

1 Department of Thermal Science and Energy Engineering, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei 230027, China;
2 School of Life Sciences, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei 230027, China;
3 Department of Mechanical Engineering, Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, Hong Kong, China

Received:2013-03-02 Revised:2013-11-22 Online:2015-01-24 Published:2015-01-28
Contact: Liqun He
Supported by:
Supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (50876100) and the Grade A Technology Development Foundation of USTC (ZC9850340103).

Drag-induced breakup mechanism for droplet generation in dripping within flow focusing microfluidics

Ping Wu¹, Zhaofeng Luo², Zhifeng Liu¹, Zida Li¹, Chi Chen³, Lili Feng¹, Liqun He¹

1 Department of Thermal Science and Energy Engineering, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei 230027, China;
2 School of Life Sciences, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei 230027, China;
3 Department of Mechanical Engineering, Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, Hong Kong, China

通讯作者: Liqun He
基金资助:
Supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (50876100) and the Grade A Technology Development Foundation of USTC (ZC9850340103).

Abstract

Abstract: Based on viscous drag-induced breakup mechanism, a simple model was proposed to predict the dripping droplet size as a function of controllable parameters in flow focusing micro devices. The size of thread before breakup was also investigated through laminar flow theory. Experiments and numerical simulations by VOF are carried out simultaneously to validate the theoretical analysis, showing that droplet size decreases rapidly with the increase of the flow rate ratio and capillary number.

Key words: Microfluidics, Droplet, Dripping, Flow focusing, Thread, Force balance

摘要： Based on viscous drag-induced breakup mechanism, a simple model was proposed to predict the dripping droplet size as a function of controllable parameters in flow focusing micro devices. The size of thread before breakup was also investigated through laminar flow theory. Experiments and numerical simulations by VOF are carried out simultaneously to validate the theoretical analysis, showing that droplet size decreases rapidly with the increase of the flow rate ratio and capillary number.

关键词: Microfluidics, Droplet, Dripping, Flow focusing, Thread, Force balance

Ping Wu, Zhaofeng Luo, Zhifeng Liu, Zida Li, Chi Chen, Lili Feng, Liqun He. Drag-induced breakup mechanism for droplet generation in dripping within flow focusing microfluidics[J]. Chin.J.Chem.Eng., 2015, 23(1): 7-14.

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Drag-induced breakup mechanism for droplet generation in dripping within flow focusing microfluidics

Drag-induced breakup mechanism for droplet generation in dripping within flow focusing microfluidics

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