Health and Science
Microfluidic flows are an integral component of sensors and point of care diagnostics in biomedical engineering and detection devices in aerodynamics and other industries. These devices are integrated into large systems to provide the required functionality. Obtaining precise control over droplet formation of certain sizes, pressure control, diffusion, advection, separation and mixing (split and recombine), control over residence time, tracer flows, and capillary action is important to compute as the experimental efforts in microfluidics is cost intensive. Paanduv is capable to perform the 3D modeling of such systems with accuracy.
Keywords: Diffusion, Advection, Microfluidics, Split, Recombine, Droplets
Particle Flow through Micro Riblets
Improvement in energy efficiency in airplanes is done by reducing the skin friction drag which is the major responsible factor for the total drag of transportation means. The analogy of riblets is first adopted from the skin of a shark that operates at a comparatively high Reynolds number (106-107).
Grooves on the surface in a streamwise direction are called riblets and are used to reduce skin friction in a turbulent boundary layer. We have modeled a V-grooved micro riblet and the flow and accumulation of particles around it.
Diffusion of Gas from Liquid to Gas in a Microfluidic Channel
Oxygen transport in biological culture has been essential to many microfluidic applications, including cell-based assays, bioreactors, and tissue engineering.
We have modeled the sole contribution of diffusion in the flow of oxygen from the liquid phase to the gas phase. Solubility of oxygen is taken into consideration to deduce the concentration of oxygen through advection and diffusion.
Mixing and Separation of Streams in a Microfluidic Channel
The mixing of reactants is essential for providing homogeneous reaction environments for
chemical and biological reactions in large scale as well as in small scale operation. The efficiency of many microfluidic devices, such as biosensors, depends on mixing. CFD simulations in this case can greatly reduce the experimental efforts by analyzing the split and mixing patterns.
In this case study, we have performed the computational analysis of mixing of two micro-fluids through multiphase CFD simulation using a passive mixture called split and recombine mixture. We have evaluated the pressure drop obtained in a single mixing step and thoroughly compared the results.