Jia Xiaoyu, Che Bingchen, Jing Guangyin, Zhang Ce
School of Physics, Northwest University, Xi'an 710069, China.
State Key Laboratory of Cultivation Base for Photoelectric Technology and Functional Materials, Institute of Photonics and Photon-Technology, Northwest University, Xi'an 710069, China.
Micromachines (Basel). 2020 Feb 14;11(2):195. doi: 10.3390/mi11020195.
In this study, we report the design and fabrication of a novel fluidic mixer. As proof-of-concept, the laminar flow in the main channel is firstly filled with small air-bubbles, which act as active stirrers inducing chaotic convective turbulent flow, and thus enhance the solutes mixing even at a low input flow rate. To further increase mixing efficiency, a design of neck constriction is included, which changes the relative positions of the inclusion bubbles significantly. The redistribution of liquid volume among bubbles then causes complex flow profile, which further enhances mixing. This work demonstrates a unique approach of utilizing air bubbles to facilitate mixing in bulk solution, which can find the potential applications in microfluidics, fast medical analysis, and biochemical synthesis.
在本研究中，我们报告了一种新型流体混合器的设计与制造。作为概念验证，主通道中的层流首先充满小气泡，这些小气泡充当主动搅拌器，引发混沌对流湍流，从而即使在低输入流速下也能增强溶质混合。为了进一步提高混合效率，还采用了颈部收缩设计，这显著改变了内含气泡的相对位置。气泡之间液体体积的重新分布进而导致复杂的流动剖面，进一步增强了混合效果。这项工作展示了一种利用气泡促进本体溶液混合的独特方法，该方法在微流体、快速医学分析和生化合成中具有潜在应用。
