Multi-helical micro-channels for rapid generation of drops of water in oil

High throughput generation of microscopic mono-dispersed droplets of one liquid into the continuous flow of another is important for large number of engineering and biomedical applications. However, meeting conflicting demands of both uniformity of size and high rate of droplet generation have been a difficult task to be accomplished in conventional systems. We have attempted to address this problem by designing a novel multi-helical micro-channel which we have used to generate water droplets in a continuous flow of oil. The channel consists of three or more helical flow paths joined along their contour length forming a single channel with inherently asymmetric geometry. Helix angle and radius are found to be two additional geometric parameters which influence different drop break-up regimes. We have shown that both time period of generation of drops and the droplet size can be minimized by suitably altering the helix angle. A scaling law has been derived to rationalize these results.