Novel Variable Radius Spiral–Shaped Micromixer: From Numerical Analysis to Experimental Validation
Mechanical Engineering Department—MicroTech Lab., Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya, Colom 7-11 08222 Terrassa, Barcelona, Spain
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Micromachines 2018, 9(11), 552; https://doi.org/10.3390/mi9110552
Received: 24 September 2018
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Revised: 19 October 2018
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Accepted: 25 October 2018
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Published: 27 October 2018
(This article belongs to the Section B：Biology and Biomedicine)
A novel type of spiral micromixer with expansion and contraction parts is presented in order to enhance the mixing quality in the low Reynolds number regimes for point-of-care tests (POCT). Three classes of micromixers with different numbers of loops and modified geometries were studied. Numerical simulation was performed to study the flow behavior and mixing performance solving the steady-state Navier–Stokes and the convection-diffusion equations in the Reynolds range of 0.1–10.0. Comparisons between the mixers with and without expansion parts were made to illustrate the effect of disturbing the streamlines on the mixing performance. Image analysis of the mixing results from fabricated micromixers was used to verify the results of the simulations. Since the proposed mixer provides up to 92% of homogeneity at Re 1.0, generating 442 Pa of pressure drop, this mixer makes a suitable candidate for research in the POCT field.
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Keywords:
point-of-care; passive mixer; micromixer; spiral micromixer; mixing
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MDPI and ACS Style
Mehrdel, P.; Karimi, S.; Farré-Lladós, J.; Casals-Terré, J. Novel Variable Radius Spiral–Shaped Micromixer: From Numerical Analysis to Experimental Validation. Micromachines 2018, 9, 552. https://doi.org/10.3390/mi9110552
AMA Style
Mehrdel P, Karimi S, Farré-Lladós J, Casals-Terré J. Novel Variable Radius Spiral–Shaped Micromixer: From Numerical Analysis to Experimental Validation. Micromachines. 2018; 9(11):552. https://doi.org/10.3390/mi9110552
Chicago/Turabian StyleMehrdel, Pouya, Shadi Karimi, Josep Farré-Lladós, and Jasmina Casals-Terré. 2018. "Novel Variable Radius Spiral–Shaped Micromixer: From Numerical Analysis to Experimental Validation" Micromachines 9, no. 11: 552. https://doi.org/10.3390/mi9110552
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