Novel no-moving-part valves for microfluidic devices

This study characterizes and analyzes the performances of micro diffusers/nozzles with five types of enhancement structures and one of conventional micro nozzle/diffuser valve. The pressure drops across the designed micro nozzles/diffusers are found to be increased considerably when the obstacle and fin structure are added. Further, the micro nozzle/diffuser having added circular area reveals the lowest pressure drop, owing to the hydraulic diameter is increased by circular area and lower interface friction. The maximum improvement of the loss coefficient ratio is about 16% for an added 3-fin structure operated at a Reynolds number around 70. Upon this situation, the static rectification efficiency improves 4.43 times than the conventional nozzle/diffuser. Experimental results indicate the performance peaks at a Reynolds number around 70, and an appreciable decline is encountered when the Reynolds number is reduced. It is due to the efficiency ratio of conventional micro nozzle/diffuser significant increases with the Reynolds number.     

Behavior of microdroplets in diffuser/nozzle structures

This paper investigates the behavior of microdroplets flowing in microchannels with a series of diffuser/nozzle structures. Depending on the imposed flow direction, the serial structures can act either as a series of diffusers or nozzles. Different serial diffuser/nozzle microchannels with opening angles ranging from 15° to 45° were considered. A 2D numerical model was employed to study the dynamics of the microdroplet during its passage through the diffuser/nozzle structures. The deformation of the microdroplet was captured using a level set method. On the experimental front, test devices were fabricated in polydimethylsiloxane using soft lithography. T-junctions for droplet formation, diffuser/nozzle structures and pressure ports were integrated in a single device. Mineral oil with 2% w/w surfactant span 80 and de-ionized water with fluorescent worked as the carrier phase and the dispersed phase, respectively. The deformation of the water droplet and the corresponding pressure drop across the diffuser/nozzle structures were measured in both diffuser and nozzle configurations at a fixed flow rate ratio between oil and water of 30. The results show a linear relationship between the pressure drop and the flow rate. Furthermore, the rectification effect was observed in all tested devices. The pressure drop in the diffuser configuration is higher than that of the nozzle configuration. Finally, the pressure measured results with droplet and without droplet were analyzed and compared.     

Single-step replicable microfluidic check valve for rectifying and sensing low Reynolds number flow

This paper presents a new microfluidic check valve well suited for low Reynolds number flow rate sensing, micropump flow rectification, and flow control in lab-on-a-chip devices. The valve uses coupling between fluid movement in a channel and an elastomeric column (flap) suspended in the fluid path to generate a strong anisotropic flow resistance. Soft lithography-based molding techniques were used to fabricate the valve, allowing for a low-cost, single-step fabrication process. Three valves—having heights of 25, 50, and 75 μm, respectively—were fabricated and experimentally evaluated; the best of them demonstrated a maximum fluidic diodicity of 4.6 at a Reynolds number of 12.6 and a significant diodicity of 1.6 at the low Reynolds number of 0.7. The valve’s notable low Reynolds number response was realized by adopting a design methodology that balances the stiffness of the elastomer flap and adhesion forces between the flap and its seat. A pair of elastomer check valves integrated with a miniature membrane actuator demonstrated a flow rectification efficiency of 29.8%. The valve’s other notable features include a wide bandwidth response, the ability to admit particles without becoming jammed, and flow rate sensing capability based on optical flap displacement measurements.     

Topology optimization of a no-moving-part valve incorporating Pareto frontier exploration

No-moving-part (NMP) valves, such as Tesla valves, are engineered fluid channels whose flow resistance depends on the flow direction. They have no moving parts and do not deform, but rely on inertial forces of the fluid to preferentially allow flow in one direction while strongly inhibiting flow in the reverse direction. NMP valves have significant advantages over active valves in terms of their reliability and easy manufacturability. Several previous studies have explored optimum designs of NMP valves, and the most widely used indicator of NMP valve performance is diodicity, defined as the ratio of the pressure drop of reverse flow to that of the forward flow. However, higher diodicity does not necessarily imply a lower pressure drop for the forward flow, and if this pressure drop is too high, significant pumping power is required, which makes the NMP valve inefficient for use in pumping applications. Therefore, for the design NMP valves, treating the forward and reverse flow pressure drops independently in a multiobjective formulation is preferable to optimization of the diodicity alone. In this paper, we propose a bi-objective topology optimization method for an optimum design of an NMP valve. One objective function is to minimize the pressure drop in the forward flow, and the other is to maximize the pressure drop in the reverse flow. A numerical example is provided to illustrate the effectiveness of the proposed method.     

Bi-objective topology optimization of asymmetrical fixed-geometry microvalve for non-Newtonian flow

Fixed-geometry microvalves such as Tesla microvalves rely on the inertial forces of the fluid to allow flow in the desired direction while inhibiting flow in undesired direction. In the traditional topology optimization design methods of fixed-geometry microvalves, single objective function is used to minimize the energy dissipation of forward flow. And several previous studies have widely used diodicity to indicate the performance of fixed-geometry microvalves, which is defined as the ratio of the pressure drop of reverse flow to that of the forward flow. However, higher diodicity does not reflect the degree of forward energy dissipation, leading to a significant pumping power is required to drive flow. Therefore, treating the forward flow pressure drop and its performance independently by a bi-objective formulation is preferable to design fixed-geometry microvalve. This paper proposes a bi-objective topology optimization design method and uses the regularization constraint to design asymmetrical fixed-geometry microvalve for non-Newtonian flow. Several numerical examples with different bifurcation angles, Darcy number and weight coefficients of the bi-objective functions are studied and the validity of the topology optimization method presented in this paper is demonstrated.

     

Liquid and gas flows in microchannels of varying cross section: a comparative analysis of the flow dynamics and design perspectives

This paper presents a comparative study of the flow of liquid and gases in microchannels of converging and diverging cross sections. Towards this, the static pressure across the microchannels is measured for different flow rates of the two fluids. The study includes both experimental and numerical investigations, thus providing several useful insights into the local information of flow parameters as well. Three different microchannels of varying angles of convergence/divergence (4°, 8° and 12°) are studied to understand the effect of the angle on flow properties such as pressure drop, Poiseuille number and diodicity. A comparison of the forces involved in liquid and gas flows shows their relative significance and effect on the flow structure. A diodic effect corresponds to a difference in the flow resistance in a microchannel of varying cross section, when the flow is subjected alternatively to converging and diverging orientations. In the present experiments, the diodic effect is observed for both liquid and gas as working fluids. The effect of governing parameters—Reynolds number and Knudsen number, on the diodicity is analysed. Based on these results, a comparison of design perspectives that may be useful in the design of converging/diverging microchannels for liquid and gas flows is provided.     

Simulations of extensional flow in microrheometric devices

We present a detailed numerical study of the flow of a Newtonian fluid through microrheometric devices featuring a sudden contraction–expansion. This flow configuration is typically used to generate extensional deformations and high strain rates. The excess pressure drop resulting from the converging and diverging flow is an important dynamic measure to quantify if the device is intended to be used as a microfluidic extensional rheometer. To explore this idea, we examine the effect of the contraction length, aspect ratio and Reynolds number on the flow kinematics and resulting pressure field. Analysis of the computed velocity and pressure fields show that, for typical experimental conditions used in microfluidic devices, the steady flow is highly three-dimensional with open spiraling vortical structures in the stagnant corner regions. The numerical simulations of the local kinematics and global pressure drop are in good agreement with experimental results. The device aspect ratio is shown to have a strong impact on the flow and consequently on the excess pressure drop, which is quantified in terms of the dimensionless Couette and Bagley correction factors. We suggest an approach for calculating the Bagley correction which may be especially appropriate for planar microchannels. Electronic supplementary material  The online version of this article (doi:) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.     

Formation of recirculation zones in a sudden expansion microchannel with a rectangular block structure over a wide Reynolds number range

This article involves computational and experimental investigations into the flow of a Newtonian fluid through a sudden expansion microchannel consisting of a rectangular block. The results elucidate that the Reynolds number and aspect ratio has a significant impact on the sequence of vortex growth downstream of the expansion channel. The experimental flow visualization results are found to be in good agreement with the numerical predictions of the local fluid dynamics. The simulation results also draw the Re—γ (Reynolds number—aspect ratio) flow pattern map to classify how the flow structures vary with Reynolds number, for example, the resulting flow structures can be classified as five types progressively. The findings in this study provide designers with valuable guidelines for improving the design and operation of the proposed microfluidic rectifier.     

Performance of a bend-diffuser system: Experimental and numerical studies

The turbulent flow inside a combined bend-diffuser configuration with a rectangular cross section is experimentally and numerically studied. The experimental study includes the outer and inner-wall-pressure measurements and the overall system/diffuser loss determination. Simulation is performed using the high-Reynolds number k-ε turbulence model improved by the low-Reynolds number k-ε turbulence model near the walls, because of its success to predict the flow with strong adverse pressure gradient. So the present paper provides a numerical procedure for the calculation of turbulent flow in a sequence curved, expanding passages, with emphasis on the bend-diffuser configuration system consisting of a 90° bend followed by a diffuser with different expanding angles ranges from 2θ = 6-30° at different inflow Reynolds numbers. Satisfied comparisons with reported experimental data in the literature as well as that carried out by the present authors at the heat engine laboratory of Menoufiya university show that the numerical method with the utilized closure turbulence model reproduces the essential features of upstream curved flow effects on the diffuser performance. The effect of spacer length (between the bend and diffuser) is also experimentally and numerically included. The results show that there is an optimum diffuser angle which depends on the inflow Reynolds number and produces the minimum pressure loss and hence good performance of such complex geometry is obtained.     

Fabrication and characterization of truly 3-D diffuser/nozzlemicrostructures in silicon

We present microfabrication and characterization of truly three-dimensional (3-D) diffuser/nozzle structures in silicon. Chemical vapor deposition (CVD), reactive ion etching (RIE), and laser-assisted etching are used to etch flow chambers and diffuser/nozzle elements. The flow behavior of the fabricated elements and the dependence of diffuser/nozzle efficiency on structure geometry has been investigated. The large freedom of 3-D micromachining combined with rapid prototyping allows one to characterize and optimize diffuser/nozzle structures     

Capabilities and limitations of 2-dimensional and 3-dimensional numerical methods in modeling the fluid flow in sudden expansion microchannels

This paper deals with computational and experimental investigations into pressure-driven flow in sudden expansion microfluidic channels. Improving the design and operation of microfluidic systems requires that the capabilities and limitations of 2-dimensional (2-D) and 3-dimensional (3-D) numerical methods in simulating the flow field in a sudden expansion microchannel be well understood. The present 2-D simulation results indicate that a flow separation vortex forms in the corner behind the sudden expansion microchannel when the Reynolds number is very low (Re∼0.1). However, the experimental results indicate that this prediction is valid only in the case of a sudden expansion microchannel with a high aspect ratio (aspect ratio >> 1). 3-D computational fluid dynamics simulations are performed to predict the critical value of Re at which the flow separation vortex phenomenon is induced in sudden expansion microchannels of different aspect ratios. The experimental flow visualization results are found to be in good agreement with the 3-D numerical predictions. The present results provide designers with a valuable guideline when choosing between 2-D or 3-D numerical simulations as a means of improving the design and operation of microfluidic devices.     

CFD analysis of performance characteristics of S-shaped diffusers with combined horizontal and vertical offsets

This paper presents the effect of combined horizontal (90°/90° turn) and vertical offsets (inlet and outlet in two different horizontal planes) on S-shaped diffusers, one with rectangular inlet (AS = 2) and rectangular outlet and other with rectangular inlet (AS = 2) and semi-circular outlet with area ratio 2 in both the cases having downstream settling length of 50 mm at Reynolds number 1.37 × 10⁵. A computer program based on finite volume technique, using standard k–ε turbulence model, has been adopted and modified to predict the flow. The results obtained from this study indicate reduced outlet pressure recovery accompanied with increase in non-uniformity in flow at the exit contributed by the offset effect. The comparison of pressure recovery of the extreme vertical offset value i.e. 1B in case of rectangular outlet diffuser and 1D in case of semi-circular outlet diffuser with zero vertical offset indicates that there is significant drop of pressure of the order of 14% and 7.3% respectively. Non-uniformity in flow at the outlet also increases from 12% to 32% and 6.4% to 21% in case of S-shaped diffuser with rectangular outlet and S-shaped diffuser with semi-circular outlet respectively, starting from zero vertical offset to extreme vertical offsetting magnitude for the case. This paper also shows that increase in Reynolds number has marginal effect on the outlet pressure recovery for both types of diffuser with all cases of vertical offset. The S-diffuser with semi-circular outlet with 0.25D vertical offsetting only fulfills most of the requirements of the flow diffusion process efficiently and effectively. For other cases, redesigning of geometry is required.     

Numerical analysis of fluid flow through radial diffusers in the presence of a chamfer in the feeding orifice with a mixed Eulerian-Lagrangian method

This paper reports an experimentally validated numerical analysis of fluid flow through a radial diffuser comprising two concentric and parallel disks. The flow is supplied axially by a feeding orifice placed in the back disk and becomes radial after being deflected by the front disk. The main purpose of the study is to assess the effect of a chamfer at the exit of the feeding orifice. Due to the irregular flow geometry, a mixed Eulerian-Lagrangian method is employed to numerically solve the fluid flow. The model is validated by comparing the numerical results with experimental data for pressure distribution on the front disk, as a function of the gap between the disks and the Reynolds number. Results for pressure on the front disk and effective flow and force areas show that the flow is significantly affected by chamfer angles as small as 5°.     

Numerical simulation of electroosmotic effect in serpentine channels

Numerical simulation of flow through a three-dimensional serpentine microchannel, subjected to a voltage perpendicular to the flow direction is presented here. Commercial CFD software CFD-ACE+ is used for the numerical analysis. A parametric study is conducted to investigate the effect of radius of curvature, Reynolds number, zeta potential and Debye length on the pressure drop and friction factor. Each case is compared with flow without electroosmotic effect. It is found that electroosmosis induces secondary flow patterns in the straight portion of the channel in addition to secondary vortices at bends. This electroosmosis-induced secondary flow causes additional pressure drop as compared to flow without electroosmosis. For flow with and without electroosmosis, the pressure drop increases with Reynolds number and the nature of variation is qualitatively similar in both the cases. It is also found that the pressure drop increases as the Debye length is reduced.     

Microscale thermal fluid transport process in a microchannel integrated with arrays of temperature and pressure sensors

One of the most important components in a microfluidic system is the microchannel which involves complicated flow and transport process. This work presents microscale thermal fluid transport process inside a microchannel with a height of 37 μm. The channel can be heated on the bottom wall and is integrated with arrays of pressure and temperature sensors which can be used to measure and determine the local heat transfer and pressure drop. A more simplified model with modification of Young’s Modulus from the experimental test is used to design and fabricate the arrays of pressure sensors. Both the pressure sensors and the channel wall use polymer materials which greatly simplifies the fabrication process. In addition, the polymer materials have a very low thermal conductivity which significantly reduces the heat loss from the channel to the ambient that the local heat transfer can be accurately measured. The airflow in the microchannel can readily become compressible even at a very low Reynolds number condition. Therefore, simultaneous measurement of both the local pressure drop and the temperature on the heated wall are required to determine the local heat transfer. Comparison of the local heat transfer for a compressible airflow in microchannel is made with the theoretical prediction based on incompressible airflow in large scale channel. The comparison has clarified many of the conflicting results among different works.     

Phenomena peculiar to underexpanded flows in supersonic micronozzles

In the present study, the characteristics of supersonic flows in micronozzles are experimentally and computationally investigated for Reynolds numbers ranging from 618 to 5560. In the experiments, the flows are created in a rectangular contoured nozzle whose heights at its throat and exit are 286 and 500 μm, respectively. The number-density distribution along the nozzle centerline is measured using the laser-induced fluorescence technique under an underexpanded condition for each Reynolds number. The experimental results reveal that the underexpanded flow expands along the streamwise direction in a range where the cross-sectional area of the nozzle is constant although the flow in such a range has been believed to be compressed owing to friction. The results also reveal that the unexpected range where the flow expands extends with a decrease in Reynolds number. In the computations, the Navier–Stokes equations are solved numerically. The computational results agree very well with the experimental results; i.e., the computational code used in the present study is validated by the experiments. By using the computational results, the reason for the appearance of the phenomena peculiar to supersonic micronozzle flows is discussed. As a result, it is found that information about the back pressure under which the flow is underexpanded can reach into the inside of a micronozzle. Such a property induces the unexpected phenomena observed in the experiments.     

Liquid flow through a diverging microchannel

In this work, experiments and three-dimensional numerical calculations of fluid flow through diverging microchannels were carried out with the aim of bringing out differences between flow in uniform and nonuniform passages. Deionized water was used as the working fluid in the experiments where the effects of mass flow rate (8.33 × 10^?6 to 8.33 × 10^?5 kg/s), microchannel hydraulic diameter (118–177 µm), length (10–30 mm) and divergence angle (4°–16°) on pressure drop were studied. The results are analyzed in detail with the help of numerical data. The pressure drop exhibits a linear dependence on the mass flow rate, whereas it is inversely proportional to the divergence angle and square of the hydraulic diameter. The pressure drop increases anomalously at 16°, suggesting that flow reversal occurs between 12° and 16°, which agrees with the corresponding value at the conventional scale. For the purpose of predicting pressure drop using straight microchannel theory, an equivalent hydraulic diameter was defined. It is observed that the equivalent hydraulic diameter, located at one-third of the diverging microchannel length from the inlet, becomes mostly independent of the mass flow rate, microchannel hydraulic diameter, length and divergence angle. The pressure drop for a diverging microchannel becomes equal to an equivalent hydraulic diameter uniform cross-section microchannel, suggesting that conventional correlations for straight microchannels can also be applied to diverging microchannels. The data presented in this work are of fundamental importance and can help in optimization of diffuser design used for example in valveless micropumps.     

串联压电微泵特性研究

介绍了一种压电驱动的串联无阀微泵.基于收缩管/扩展管整流特性的分析,建立了微泵输出特性的表达公式.采用有限元仿真软件ANSYS对微泵内流体的流动过成进行了数值模拟,结果显示,在相同的驱动条件下,串联无阀微泵的工作性能优于单腔无阀微泵的工作性能.泵流量随着驱动电压的增加而增加.当固定的驱动电压下,存在最优的压电层厚度使得泵流量最大.研究结果为串联微泵的优化设计提供了依据.     

Bistability in the hydrodynamic resistance of a drop trapped at a microcavity junction

We investigate the flow resistance of a droplet trapped at a constriction in a microcavity located at a microchannel bifurcation as a function of system parameters including capillary number, drop confinement, and viscosity ratio. Using a combination of experiments and volume-of-fluid numerical simulations, we measure the hydrodynamic resistance of the trapped drop and connect it to drop deformation in the microcavity. For drop sizes smaller than the microcavity, we observe a bistable behavior in terms of the resistance of the trapped drop as a function of capillary number. For these underfilled drops, we find that the resistance is low at small capillary number (Ca < 10^?3) and jumps to high resistance at a threshold capillary number. For drops equal to the microcavity size, we observe that the bistability vanishes and the drop resistance is of similar magnitude as that of underfilled drops at large capillary number. To explain these findings, we use confocal microscopy and simulations to obtain three-dimensional views of the drop deformation and continuous phase fluid in the microcavity. We observe that the low resistance is due to negligible drop deformation and unobstructed flow of continuous phase through the constriction. The high resistance is due to the drop interface protruding into the constriction restricting the flow of continuous phase through the gutters. Taken together, our results indicate that a trapped drop at a bifurcation can act as a nonlinear resistor and could be potentially used as a soft switch to control droplet trajectories in microfluidic devices.     

Electroactive polymer based microfluidic pump

A planar, valveless, microfluidic pump using electrostrictive poly(vinylidene fluoride-trifluoroethylene) [P(VDF-TrFE)] based polymer as the actuator material is presented. P(VDF-TrFE) thick films having a large electrostrictive strain ∼5–7% and high elastic energy density of 1 J/cm³ have been used in a unimorph diaphragm actuator configuration. The microfluidic pump was realized by integrating a nozzle/diffuser type fluidic mechanical-diode structure with the polymer microactuator. The P(VDF-TrFE) unimorph diaphragm actuator, 80 μm thick and 2.2 mm × 2.2 mm in lateral dimensions, showed an actuation deflection of 80 μm for an applied electric field of 90 MV/m. The microfluidic pump could pump methanol at a flow rate of 25 μl/min at 63 Hz with a backpressure of 350 Pa. The flow rate of this pump could be easily controlled by external electrical field. Two different sizes of nozzle/diffuser elements were studied and the pumping efficiency of these structures is 11 and 16%, respectively.