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Fluids
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Physics and Applications of Microfluidics
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Physics and Applications of Microfluidics

A special issue of Fluids (ISSN 2311-5521).

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 31 January 2025 | Viewed by 6196

Special Issue Editor

Dr. Goncalo Silva

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Departamento de Engenharia Mecatrónica, Escola de Ciências e Tecnologia, Universidade de Évora, 7000-671 Évora, Portugal
Interests: microfluidics; rarefied gases; porous media flows; biological flows; lattice Boltzmann methods

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Research on microfluidics concerns the study of geometrically constrained fluid flows inside domains of micrometric size.

Ever since its introduction, about 40 years ago, the miniaturization of typical fluidic elements, such as channels, reservoirs, or mixing/separation chambers, has attracted significant interest, enabling improvement in the performance of classical devices, such as compact heat exchangers, or the development of innovative concepts, such as the biochip.

However, despite its many technological advantages, the scale reduction in transport phenomena has also introduced new challenges to the physical understanding of the underlying fluid flow mechanisms. Unexpected traits range from the increased prominence of surface-based phenomena, such as capillarity effects in the case of liquids, to the complete breakdown of the classical macroscopic hydrodynamic models in the case of gases. This Special Issue seeks contributions that bring new insight into the physics of microfluidic flows. In this context, theoretical, experimental, and computational approaches are all welcome.

Dr. Goncalo Silva
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Fluids is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 1800 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • microfluidics
  • multiphase flow
  • rarefied flow
  • nonequilibrium gas flow
  • biochip
  • lab-on-a-chip
  • microchannels
  • computational fluid dynamics
  • experimental fluid dynamics

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Further information on MDPI's Special Issue polices can be found here.

Published Papers (3 papers)

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Research

22 pages, 4326 KiB  
Article
Numerical Study of Heat Transfer Enhancement Using Nano-Encapsulated Phase Change (NPC) Slurries in Wavy Microchannels
by Myo Min Zaw, Liang Zhu and Ronghui Ma
Fluids 2024, 9(10), 236; https://doi.org/10.3390/fluids9100236 - 9 Oct 2024
Viewed by 689
Abstract
Researchers have attempted to improve heat transfer in mini/microchannel heat sinks by dispersing nano-encapsulated phase change (NPC) materials in base coolants. While NPC slurries have demonstrated improved heat transfer performance, their applications are limited by decreasing enhancement at increased flow rates. To address [...] Read more.
Researchers have attempted to improve heat transfer in mini/microchannel heat sinks by dispersing nano-encapsulated phase change (NPC) materials in base coolants. While NPC slurries have demonstrated improved heat transfer performance, their applications are limited by decreasing enhancement at increased flow rates. To address this challenge, the present study numerically investigates the effects of wavy channels on the performance of NPC slurries. Simulation results reveal that a wavy channel induces Dean vortices that intensify the mixing of the working fluid and enlarge the melting fractions of the NPC material, thus offering a significantly higher heat transfer efficiency than a straight channel. Moreover, heat transfer enhancement by NPC slurries varies with the imposed heat flux and flow rate. Interestingly, the maximum heat transfer enhancement obtained with the wavy channel not only exceeds the straight one, but also occurs at a higher heat flux and faster flow rate. This finding demonstrates the advantage of wavy channels in management of intensive heat fluxes with NPC slurries. The study also investigates wavy channels with varying amplitude and wavelength. Increasing the wave aspect ratio from 0.2 to 0.588 strengthens Dean vortices and consequently increases the Nusselt number, optimal heat flux, and overall thermal performance factor. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Physics and Applications of Microfluidics)
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16 pages, 3777 KiB  
Article
Analytical Solution for Transient Electroosmotic and Pressure-Driven Flows in Microtubes
by Yu Feng, Hang Yi and Ruguan Liu
Fluids 2024, 9(6), 140; https://doi.org/10.3390/fluids9060140 - 11 Jun 2024
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 3838
Abstract
This study focuses on deriving and presenting an infinite series as the analytical solution for transient electroosmotic and pressure-driven flows in microtubes. Such a mathematical presentation of fluid dynamics under simultaneous electric field and pressure gradients leverages governing equations derived from the generalized [...] Read more.
This study focuses on deriving and presenting an infinite series as the analytical solution for transient electroosmotic and pressure-driven flows in microtubes. Such a mathematical presentation of fluid dynamics under simultaneous electric field and pressure gradients leverages governing equations derived from the generalized continuity and momentum equations simplified for laminar and axisymmetric flow. Velocity profile developments, apparent slip-induced flow rates, and shear stress distributions were analyzed by varying values of the ratio of microtube radius to Debye length and the electroosmotic slip velocity. Additionally, the “retarded time” in terms of hydraulic diameter, kinematic viscosity, and slip-induced flow rate was derived. A simpler polynomial series approximation for steady electroosmotic flow is also proposed for engineering convenience. The analytical solutions obtained in this study not only enhance the fundamental understanding of the electroosmotic flow characteristics within microtubes, emphasizing the interplay between electroosmotic and pressure-driven mechanisms, but also serve as a benchmark for validating computational fluid dynamics models for electroosmotic flow simulations in more complex flow domains. Moreover, the analytical approach aids in the parametric analysis, providing deeper insights into the impact of physical parameters on electroosmotic and pressure-driven flow behavior, which is critical for optimizing device performance in practical applications. These findings also offer insightful implications for diagnostic and therapeutic strategies in healthcare, particularly enhancing the capabilities of lab-on-a-chip technologies and paving the way for future research in the development and optimization of microfluidic systems. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Physics and Applications of Microfluidics)
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22 pages, 7806 KiB  
Article
Simulation on the Separation of Breast Cancer Cells within a Dual-Patterned End Microfluidic Device
by Diganta Dutta, Xavier Palmer, Jung Yul Lim and Surabhi Chandra
Fluids 2024, 9(6), 123; https://doi.org/10.3390/fluids9060123 - 25 May 2024
Viewed by 802
Abstract
Microfluidic devices have long been useful for both the modeling and diagnostics of numerous diseases. In the past 20 years, they have been increasingly adopted for helping to study those in the family of breast cancer through characterizing breast cancer cells and advancing [...] Read more.
Microfluidic devices have long been useful for both the modeling and diagnostics of numerous diseases. In the past 20 years, they have been increasingly adopted for helping to study those in the family of breast cancer through characterizing breast cancer cells and advancing treatment research in portable and replicable formats. This paper adds to the body of work concerning cancer-focused microfluidics by proposing a simulation of a hypothetical bi-ended three-pronged device with a single channel and 16 electrodes with 8 pairs under different voltage and frequency regimes using COMSOL. Further, a study was conducted to examine the frequencies most effective for ACEO to separate cancer cells and accompanying particles. The study revealed that the frequency of EF has a more significant impact on the separation of particles than the inlet velocity. Inlet velocity variations while holding the frequency of EF constant resulted in a consistent trend showing a direct proportionality between inlet velocity and net velocity. These findings suggest that optimizing the frequency of EF could lead to more effective particle separation and targeted therapeutic interventions for breast cancer. This study hopefully will help to create targeted therapeutic interventions by bridging the disparity between in vitro and in vivo models. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Physics and Applications of Microfluidics)
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