Laminar Drag Reduction in Hydrophobic Microchannels

The apparent slip effects of laminar water flow in smooth hydrophobic microchannels and patterned hydrophobic microchannels were investigated. A series of experiments were performed to demonstrate the drag reductions for laminar water flow in hydrophobic microchannels. These microchannels were fabricated from silicon wafers using photolithography and were coated with hydrophobic octadecyltrichlorosilane (OTS). To generate a larger drag reduction, the patterned hydrophobic microchannels were fabricated to allow the liquid to flow over a region of trapped air in the cavity between the microridges. With the geometrical dimensions used, pressure drop reductions ranging from 10 to 30 % were found in the smooth microchannels and patterned microchannels. The pressure drop reduction was shown to increase with increasing microridge spacing and decreasing microchannel width. Using micro‐particle image velocimetry (PIV), we measured an apparent slip velocity at the wall of approximately 8 % of the centerline velocity, yielding a slip length of approximately 2 μm in the smooth hydrophobic microchannel. Theoretically, the analytical solution derived for three‐dimensional flow in a rectangular duct is presented to predict the slip velocity and slip length at the wall based on the pressure drop measurement. These results are in agreement with the experimental data obtained using micro‐PIV.     

Gas-liquid two-phase flow in serpentine microchannel with different wall wettability

Gas-liquid flow in serpentine microchannel with different surface properties exhibits drastically different flow behavior.With water and air as working fluids,the method of numerical simulation was adopted in this paper based on CLSVOF (coupled level set and volume of fluid method) multiphase model.After verifing the reasonability of the model through experiment,by changing wall properties and Re number (Re ＜ 1500),the influences of contact angle and surface roughness on flow regime and Po number were discussed.Moreover,the difference of pressure drop between curve and straight microchannel was also calculated.Beyond that,the combined effect of curve channel and wall properties on flow resistance was analyzed.This paper finds that wall properties have great influence on gasliquid flow in microchannels not only on flow regime but also flow characteristics.Meanwhile,the pressure drop in curve microchannels is larger than straight.It is more beneficial for fluid flowing when the straight part of microchannel is hydrophilic smooth wall and curve part is hydrophobic with large roughness.     

Oil–water two‐phase flow in microchannels: Flow patterns and pressure drop measurements

This paper investigates oil–water two‐phase flows in microchannels of 793 and 667 µm hydraulic diameters made of quartz and glass, respectively. By injecting one fluid at a constant flow rate and the second at variable flow rate, different flow patterns were identified and mapped and the corresponding two‐phase pressure drops were measured. Measurements of the pressure drops were interpreted using the homogeneous and Lockhart–Martinelli models developed for two‐phase flows in pipes. The results show similarity to both liquid–liquid flow in pipes and to gas–liquid flow in microchannels. We find a strong dependence of pressure drop on flow rates, microchannel material, and the first fluid injected into the microchannel.     

液滴滴浸微通道入口段的动力学特性分析

采用流体体积(Volume of Fluid, VOF)函数捕捉气液相界面,研究液滴滴浸微通道入口段的运动,通过改变微通道入口段的截面宽度、润湿特性及液滴雷诺数(Re)和韦伯数(We)研究滴浸过程的动力学特性。结果表明,微通道入口段的截面宽度对液滴浸入微通道时的撞击过程影响最明显,随截面宽度减小,液滴撞击通道入口后通过微通道的难度增加,整个过程液滴所受阻力逐渐增大;当微通道截面宽度减至0.2 mm时,壁面润湿性效应凸显,表现为壁面静态接触角越大,液滴滴浸微通道时所受的阻力也越大。表面接触角较大时,为使液体通过微通道入口段,可适当增大液滴的Re,液体在通道内的浸润长度随Re增加成比例增大,当Re增至4000时,通道内开始出现射流现象。We减小,表面张力效应变得明显,通道内的流动阻力变大,液体流过微通道入口段的难度增大。     

Microdroplet coalescences at microchannel junctions with different collision angles

Microdroplet coalescence mechanism is very important for the miniaturization of multiphase chemical processes with microstructured devices. Using three working systems with different physical properties, this article presents an experimental study on the fluid dynamics of microdroplet coalescence at different microchannel junctions. The critical capillary number to distinguish coalescence or noncoalescence of microdroplet is investigated and its variations with droplet size, collision angle, and physical properties are analyzed with two important parameters – the film drainage time and droplet contact time. Experimental results indicate that microdroplet coalescence can be enhanced by reducing the droplet collision angle. The differences of microdroplet coalescences in confined microchannels and free‐flowing spaces are provided with the analysis of critical capillary number. A model equation is proposed to predict the critical capillary numbers in this study, which may provide valuable information for the design and development of new microstructured chemical device. © 2012 American Institute of Chemical Engineers AIChE J, 59: 643–649, 2013     

Effect of Viscosity on the Hydrodynamics of Liquid Processes in Microchannels

The hydrodynamics of single‐phase liquid flow with relatively high fluid viscosities in a microchannel was investigated experimentally. The results showed that the conventional theory could predict the single‐phase flow with high fluid viscosities in microchannels. Furthermore, the effect of viscosity on the slug flow of two immiscible liquid phases in a microchannel was studied with high‐speed imaging techniques. It was found that a higher dispersed‐phase viscosity quickened the flow pattern transition from slug flow to parallel flow and resulted in smaller slugs. A modified capillary number representing the mutual effects of the viscosities of the continuous phase and the dispersed phase was proposed for predicting the slug sizes in microchannels.     

Meniscus behaviors and capillary pressures in capillary channels having various cross-sectional geometries

A numerical study has been conducted to simulate the liquid/gas interface (meniscus) behaviors and capillary pressures in various capillary channels using the volume of fluid (VOF) method. Calculations are performed for four channels whose cross-sectional shapes are circle, regular hexagon, square and equilateral triangle and for four solid/liquid contact angles of 30°, 60°, 120° and 150°. No calculation is needed for the contact angle of 90° because the liquid/gas interface in this case can be thought to be a plane surface. In the calculations, the liquid/gas interface in each channel is assumed to have a flat surface at the initial time, it changes towards its due shape thereafter, which is induced by the combined action of the surface tension and contact angle. After experiencing a period of damped oscillation, it stabilizes at a certain geometry. The interface dynamics and capillary pressures are compared among different channels under three categories including the equal inscribed circle radius, equal area, and equal circumscribed circle radius. The capillary pressure in the circular channel obtained from the simulation agrees well with that given by the Young–Laplace equation, supporting the reliability of the numerical model. The channels with equal inscribed circle radius yield the closest capillary pressures, while those with equal circumscribed circle radius give the most scattered capillary pressures, with those with equal area living in between. A correlation is developed to calculate the equivalent radius of a polygonal channel, which can be used to compute the capillary pressure in such a channel by combination with the Young–Laplace equation.     

微通道壁面浸润性对气-液两相流的影响规律研究

通道壁面浸润性对微通道内的气-液两相流具有重要影响。利用等离子体辅助接枝改性,将甲基丙烯酰乙基磺基甜菜碱（SBMA）及1H, 1H, 2H, 2H-全氟癸基三乙氧基硅烷接枝在聚甲基丙烯酸甲酯（PMMA）材料表面,得到了10°、40°、70°和110°四种接触角的微通道,并考察了浸润性对流型、气泡长度和压降的影响。结果表明,随接触角增大,气泡截断位置下移,膨胀阶段缩短,挤压阶段变长;低流量时,气泡长度随接触角增加而增大,高流量时则减小;建立了与材料表面水接触角相关的气泡尺寸预测关联式,与Garstecki经典预测关联式相比,预测精度更高;θ<90°时,接触角增加,压降减小;θ>90°时,三相接触线使流动阻力和压降增加。     

Numerical study on gas and liquid slugs for Taylor flow in a T-junction microchannel

The rapid development of microfabrication techniques creates new opportunities for applications of microchannel reactor technology in chemical reaction engineering. The extremely large surface-to-volume ratio and the short transport path in microchannels enhance heat and mass transfer dramatically, and hence provide many potential opportunities in chemical process development and intensification. Multiphase reactions involving gas/liquid reactants with a solid as a catalyst are ubiquitous in chemical and pharmaceutical industries. The hydrodynamics of the flow affects the reactor performance significantly; therefore it plays a prominent role in reactor design. For gas/liquid two-phase flow in a microchannel, the Taylor slug flow regime is the most commonly encountered flow pattern. The present study deals with the numerical simulation of the Taylor flow in a microchannel, particularly on gas and liquid slugs. A T-junction empty microchannel with varying cross-sectional width (0.25, 0.5, 0.75, 1, 2 and 3 mm) served as the model micro-reactor, and a finite volume based commercial computational fluid dynamics (CFD) package, FLUENT, was adopted for the numerical simulation. The gas and liquid slug lengths at various operating and fluid conditions were obtained and found to be in good agreement with the literature data. Several correlations in the T-junction microchannel were developed based on the simulation results. The slug flows for other geometries and inlet conditions were also studied.     

On the CFD modelling of Taylor flow in microchannels

With the increasing interest in multiphase flow in microchannels and advancement in interface capturing techniques, there have recently been a number of attempts to apply computational fluid dynamics (CFD) to model Taylor flow in microchannels. The liquid film around the Taylor bubble is very thin at low Capillary number (Ca) and requires careful modelling to capture it. In this work, a methodology has been developed to model Taylor flow in microchannel using the ANSYS Fluent software package and a criterion for having a sufficiently fine mesh to capture the film is suggested. The results are shown to be in good agreement with existing correlations and previous valid modelling studies. The role played by the wall contact angle in Taylor bubble simulations is clarified.     

ELECTROOSMOTIC HELICAL FLOW PRODUCED BY COMBINED USE OF LONGITUDINAL AND TRANSVERSAL ELECTRIC FIELDS IN A RECTANGULAR MICROCHANNEL

We theoretically devise and simulate a microelectrode system that produces electroosmotic helical flow in a straight rectangular microchannel. In addition to a pair of primary electrodes that generate a longitudinal electric field, sets of secondary electrodes are installed to produce a transversal electric field. The secondary electrode system consists of point electrodes embedded along two edges of the bottom surface of the channel. The transversal electric field developed across the bottom surface causes the electroosmotic motion of fluid at the bottom of the channel along the transversal direction. As a combined effect of the primary electrode system that produces unidirectional longitudinal flow along the channel and the secondary electrode system that produces transversal flow across the bottom surface, the flow inside a rectangular microchannel follows a helical pattern. After simulating the electroosmotic helical flows developed in microchannels we analyze the mixing of sample liquid in such flow fields by calculating the trajectories of fluid particles.     

ELECTROOSMOTIC HELICAL FLOW PRODUCED BY COMBINED USE OF LONGITUDINAL AND TRANSVERSAL ELECTRIC FIELDS IN A RECTANGULAR MICROCHANNEL

We theoretically devise and simulate a microelectrode system that produces electroosmotic helical flow in a straight rectangular microchannel. In addition to a pair of primary electrodes that generate a longitudinal electric field, sets of secondary electrodes are installed to produce a transversal electric field. The secondary electrode system consists of point electrodes embedded along two edges of the bottom surface of the channel. The transversal electric field developed across the bottom surface causes the electroosmotic motion of fluid at the bottom of the channel along the transversal direction. As a combined effect of the primary electrode system that produces unidirectional longitudinal flow along the channel and the secondary electrode system that produces transversal flow across the bottom surface, the flow inside a rectangular microchannel follows a helical pattern. After simulating the electroosmotic helical flows developed in microchannels we analyze the mixing of sample liquid in such flow fields by calculating the trajectories of fluid particles.     

Simulation of the hydrodynamics and mass transfer in a falling film wavy microchannel

The flow in a liquid falling film is predominantly laminar, and the liquid-side mass transfer is limited by molecular diffusion. The effective way to enhance the mass transfer is to improve the liquid film flow behavior. The falling film behaviors of water, ethanol and ethylene glycol in nine different wavy microchannels were simulated by Computational Fluid Dynamics. The simulation results show that the falling film thickness exhibits a waveform distribution resulting in a resonance phenomenon along the wavy microchannel. The fluctuation of liquid film surface increases the gas–liquid interface area, and the internal eddy flow inside the liquid film also improves the turbulence of liquid film, the gas–liquid mass transfer in falling film microchannels is intensified. Compared with flat microchannel, the CO_2 absorption efficiency in water in the wavy microchannel is improved over 41%. Prediction models of liquid film amplitude and average liquid film thickness were established respectively.     

3‐D numerical simulations on flow and mixing behaviors in gas–liquid–solid microchannels

Three‐dimensional (3‐D) gas‐liquid–solid flow and mixing behaviors in microchannels were simulated by coupled volume of fluid and discrete phase method and simulations were validated against observations. The detachment time and length of gas slug are shortened in liquid–solid flow, compared with those in liquid flow due to higher superficial viscosity of liquid–solid mixture, which will move the bubble formation toward the dripping regime. Solid particles mainly distribute in liquid slug and particle flow shows obvious periodicity. With the increase of contact angle of the inner wall, gas slug (0–50°), stratified (77–120°), and liquid drop (160°) flows are observed. The residence time distributions of solid and liquid phases are similar because particles behave as tracers. The backmixing of solid and liquid phases in liquid drop flow is the weakest among the three flow patterns, and the backmixing of gas phase in slug flow is weaker than that in both stratified and liquid drop flows. The results can provide a theoretical basis for the design of microreactors. © 2013 American Institute of Chemical Engineers AIChE J, 59: 1934–1951, 2013     

矩形电渗流道中焦耳热效应的数值模拟研究

对玻璃和聚二甲基硅氧烷(PDMS)制成的矩形微流道中电渗流(EOF)的温度场进行了数值模拟研究。焦耳热效应的数学模型包括控制电势场的Poisson-Boltzm ann方程,控制流场的修正Navier-Stokes方程和控制温度场的能量方程。电势场、流场和温度场通过与温度有关的流体属性耦合在一起,将耦合的控制方程简化之后,应用有限元方法完成了矩形电渗流道中温度场的仿真计算。数值模拟结果表明,相同条件下,PDMS制成的微流道中的溶液温度明显高于玻璃制成的微流道中的溶液温度,且尺寸较大的PDMS流道中(h=48μm,b=96μm)的溶液温度明显高于尺寸较小的PDMS流道(h=32μm,b=96μm)中的溶液温度。     

Transport of Wetting and Nonwetting Liquid Plugs in a T-shaped Microchannel

The transport of liquid plugs in microchannels is very important for many applications such as in medical treatments in airways and in extraction of oil from porous rocks. A plug of wetting and non-wetting liquids driven by a constant pressure difference through a T-shaped microchannel is studied numerically with lattice Boltzmann (LB) method. A two-phase flow LB model based on field mediators is built. Three typical flow patterns (blocking, rupture and splitting flow) of plug flow are obtained with different driving pressures. It is found that it becomes difficult for a plug with short initial plug length to leave the microchannel; the flow pattern of plug transport varies with the contact angle, especially from wetting to nonwetting; with the increase of interfacial tension, the front interface of plug moves faster; the front and rear interfaces of the plug with small viscosity ratio move faster in the microchannel than those of the plug with large viscosity ratio. The study is helpful to provide theoretical data for the design and scale-up of liquid-liquid reactors and separators.     

DEVELOPMENTS ON WETTING EFFECTS IN MICROFLUIDIC SLUG FLOW

Wetting effects form a dimension of fluid dynamics that becomes predominant, precisely controllable, and possibly useful at the micro-scale. Microfluidic multiphase flow patterns, including size, shape, and velocity of fluidic particles, and mass and heat transfer rates are affected by wetting properties of microchannel walls and surface tension forces between fluid phases. The novelty of this field, coupled to difficulties in experimental design and measurements, means that literature results are scarce and scientific understanding is incomplete. Numerical methods developed recently have enabled a shortcut in obtaining results that can be perceived as realistic and that offer insight otherwise not possible. In this work the effect of the contact angle on gas-liquid two-phase flow slug formation in a microchannel T-junction was studied by numerical simulation. The contact angle, varied from 0 to 140 degrees, influenced the interaction of the gas and liquid phases with the channel wall, affecting the shape, size, and velocity of the slugs. The visualisation of the cross-sectional area of gas slugs allowed insight into the existence of liquid flow along rectangular microchannel corners, which was affected by the contact angle and determined the occurrence of velocity slip. The velocity profile within the gas slugs was also found to change as a function of contact angle, with hydrophilic channels inducing greater internal circulation, compared to greater channel wall contact in the case of hydrophobic channels. These effects play a role in heat and mass transfer from channel walls and highlight the value of numeral simulation in microfluidic design. Supplementary materials are available for this article. Go to the publisher's online edition of Journal of Chemical Engineering Communications to view the supplemental file.     

壁面润湿性对蛇形微通道内两相流流动特性影响的格子Boltzmann模拟

在90°Y形汇流的矩形截面蛇形微通道内,采用格子Boltzmann方法对不同接触角的蛇形微通道内气液两相流动进行了数值计算。首先以空气和水为工作流体对气液两相流动进行模拟研究并通过实验进行验证。验证模型合理性后,根据模拟计算结果,以气液相流速为坐标绘制了不同接触角下的流型图并分析其差异性及原因;同时深入研究了液相黏度和接触角对于弹状流流体力学性质的综合影响;比较了具有不同接触角壁面的蛇形微通道内两相流压降、摩擦因子、壁面摩擦系数和剪切应力的分布规律,并讨论了蛇形微通道内气液两相流动的影响因素。研究表明疏水壁面即接触角大于90°时,微通道内两相流压降、摩擦因子、壁面摩擦系数和剪切应力均低于亲水壁面微通道内相关参数,更利于流体流动。     

Effect of wall temperature modulation on the heat transfer characteristics of droplet-train flow inside a rectangular microchannel

The numerical studies of water–oil two-phase slug flow inside a two-dimensional vertical microchannel subjected to modulated wall temperature boundary conditions have been discussed in the present paper. Many researchers have contributed their efforts in exploring the characteristics of Taylor flows inside microchannel under constant wall heat flux or isothermal wall conditions. However, there is no study available in the literature which discusses the impact of modulated thermal wall boundary conditions on the heat transfer behavior of slug flows inside microchannels. Hence, to bridge this gap, an effort has been made to understand the heat transfer characteristics of the flow under sinusoidal wall temperature conditions. Initially, a single phase flow and heat transfer study was performed in microchannels, and the results of the fully developed velocity profile and heat transfer rate were validated with benchmark analytical results. Then an optimal selection of the combination of sinusoidal thermal wall boundary conditions has been made for the two-phase slug flow study. Later, the effects of amplitude(0 b ε b 0.03) and frequency(0 b ω b 750π rad·s~(-1)) of the sinusoidal wall temperature profile on the heat transfer have been studied using the optimal combination of the wall boundary conditions. The results of the numerical study using modulated temperature conditions on channel walls showed a significant improvement in the heat transfer over liquid-only flow by approximately 50% as well as over two-phase flow without wall temperature modulation. The non-dimensional temperature contours obtained for different cases of temperature modulation clearly explain the root cause of such improvement in the heat transfer. Besides,the results based on the hydrodynamics of the flow have also been reported in terms of variation of droplet shapes and film thickness. The influence of Capillary number on the film thickness as well as heat transfer rates has also been discussed. In addition, the measured film thickness has also been compared with that calculated using standard empirical and analytical models available in the literature. The heat transfer rate obtained from the numerical study for the case of unmodulated wall temperature was found to be in a close match with a phenomenological model to evaluate slug flow heat transfer having a mean absolute deviation of 7.56%.     

Capillary and van der Waals force between microparticles with different sizes in humid air

It is well known that surface effect forces, such as van der Waals force and capillary force, are the major contributions to adhesion when microsized particles are in contact in humid environment. But it is very complex to calculate the adhesion force between two smooth unequal particles. In conventional approaches, the effective particle radius approximation and the constant half-filling angle assumptions are often used for computing the van der Waals forces between two microparticles. However, the approximation and the assumption are actually difficult to accurately model the forces between unequal particle sizes when the surfaces are with different properties. In this paper, we present a theoretical study of the van der Waals force and capillary force between two microparticles with different radii and the surface properties linked by a liquid bridge. The proposed model provides the adhesion force predictions in good agreement with the previous formula and existing experiment data. Considering the solid particles are partially wetted by the liquid bridge, the van der Waals force is calculated by divided the particle surface into a wetted part and a dry portion in our stimulation. Since the wetted surface portion of the particle is determined by the half-filling angle, the relationship between two half-filling angles of the unequal size particles is developed from the geometrical consideration, which is relate to the size ratio of the particles, the contact angle, and the separation distance. Then, the van der Waals force is determined using the surface element integration. Moreover, the influences of humidity, particles size, contact angle, and separation distance toward the adhesion forces are discussed using the proposed method. Simulations indicate that a higher relative humidity leads to bigger liquid bridges, suggesting a higher capillary force, but at the same time, the van der Waals force decreases due to the decrease in surfaces energy. As for the influence of contact angle, results show that a higher contact angle, that is, a more hydrophobic surface, reduces the capillary force but increases the van der Waals force (absolute value). The simulations also show that the both the capillary force and the van der Waals force (absolute value) increase as the particle size increases. When the particles are separated from each other, the capillary force and van der Waals force decreases gradually. These results are helpful to understand and utilize the adhesion interaction between particles with unequal sizes at the ambient condition.