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Numerical optimization of passive chaotic micromixers
This paper was presented at the 3rd Micro and Nano Flows Conference (MNF2011), which was held at the Makedonia Palace Hotel, Thessaloniki in Greece. The conference was organised by Brunel University and supported by the Italian Union of Thermofluiddynamics, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, University of Thessaly, IPEM, the Process Intensification Network, the Institution of Mechanical Engineers, the Heat Transfer Society, HEXAG - the Heat Exchange Action Group, and the Energy Institute.Due to the lack of turbulence in micromixers diffusion is the main process contributing to microfluidic mixing. Especially mixing of
uids with low diffusivity is a difficult task. The recently discovered mechanism of "chaotic-advection" enhances the diffusion process by stretching and folding the fluid interfaces in order to provide a larger interface. Certain passive micromixers like the staggered herringbone mixer (SHM) apply this concept and succeed in enhancing the mixing process considerably. The optimization of such micromixers is a time consuming and often expensive process. We demonstrate that the application of the lattice Boltzmann (LB) method to study advection and diffusion processes can be an efficient tool to optimize micromixers. By combining finite time Lyapunov exponents to study chaotic advection and Danckwert's intensity of segregation to study the diffusion, we demonstrate how optimal geometrical parameters for the SHM can be found and
how diffusion is improved by the complex
ow pattern inside the mixer. The current article provides a review of our results published in [1] together with additional studies on modelling diffusive mixing
with the LB method.This work was financed within the DFG priority program "nano- and microfluidics", the DFG collaborative research center 716, and by the NWO/STW VIDI grant of J. Harting
PRS16 AN ECONOMIC EVALUATION OF A PHARMACOLOGICAL INTERVENTION USING VARENICLINE AS THERAPY FOR SMOKING CESSATION
Characterizing SL2S galaxy groups using the Einstein radius
We analyzed the Einstein radius, , in our sample of SL2S galaxy
groups, and compared it with (the distance from the arcs to the center of
the lens), using three different approaches: 1.- the velocity dispersion
obtained from weak lensing assuming a Singular Isothermal Sphere profile
(), 2.- a strong lensing analytical method ()
combined with a velocity dispersion-concentration relation derived from
numerical simulations designed to mimic our group sample, 3.- strong lensing
modeling () of eleven groups (with four new models presented in
this work) using HST and CFHT images. Finally, was analyzed as a function
of redshift to investigate possible correlations with L, N, and the
richness-to-luminosity ratio (N/L). We found a correlation between
and , but with large scatter. We estimate = (2.2 0.9)
+ (0.7 0.2), = (0.4 1.5) + (1.1
0.4), and = (0.4 1.5) + (0.9 0.3) for
each method respectively. We found a weak evidence of anti-correlation between
and , with Log = (0.580.06) - (0.040.1), suggesting
a possible evolution of the Einstein radius with , as reported previously by
other authors. Our results also show that is correlated with L and N
(more luminous and richer groups have greater ), and a possible
correlation between and the N/L ratio. Our analysis indicates that
is correlated with in our sample, making useful to
characterize properties like L and N (and possible N/L) in galaxy groups.
Additionally, we present evidence suggesting that the Einstein radius evolves
with .Comment: Accepted for publication in Astronomy & Astrophysics. Typos correcte
Galaxy properties from J-PAS narrow-band photometry
We study the consistency of the physical properties of galaxies retrieved
from SED-fitting as a function of spectral resolution and signal-to-noise ratio
(SNR). Using a selection of physically motivated star formation histories, we
set up a control sample of mock galaxy spectra representing observations of the
local universe in high-resolution spectroscopy, and in 56 narrow-band and 5
broad-band photometry. We fit the SEDs at these spectral resolutions and
compute their corresponding the stellar mass, the mass- and luminosity-weighted
age and metallicity, and the dust extinction. We study the biases,
correlations, and degeneracies affecting the retrieved parameters and explore
the r\^ole of the spectral resolution and the SNR in regulating these
degeneracies. We find that narrow-band photometry and spectroscopy yield
similar trends in the physical properties derived, the former being
considerably more precise. Using a galaxy sample from the SDSS, we compare more
realistically the results obtained from high-resolution and narrow-band SEDs
(synthesized from the same SDSS spectra) following the same spectral fitting
procedures. We use results from the literature as a benchmark to our
spectroscopic estimates and show that the prior PDFs, commonly adopted in
parametric methods, may introduce biases not accounted for in a Bayesian
framework. We conclude that narrow-band photometry yields the same trend in the
age-metallicity relation in the literature, provided it is affected by the same
biases as spectroscopy; albeit the precision achieved with the latter is
generally twice as large as with the narrow-band, at SNR values typical of the
different kinds of data.Comment: 26 pages, 15 figures. Accepted for publication in MNRA
The effect of hexose ratios on metabolite production in Saccharomyces cerevisiae strains obtained from the spontaneous fermentation of mezcal
Mezcal from Tamaulipas (Me´xico) is produced by spontaneous alcoholic fermentation using Agave spp. musts, which are rich in fructose. In this study eight Saccharomyces cerevisiae isolates obtained at the final stage of fermentation from a traditional mezcal winery were analysed in three semisynthetic media. Medium M1 had a sugar content of 100 g l-1 and a glucose/fructose (G/F) of 9:1. Medium M2 had a sugar content of 100 g l-1 and a G/F of 1:9. Medium M3 had a sugar content of 200 g l-1 and a G/F of 1:1. In the three types of media tested, the highest ethanol yield was obtained from the glucophilic strain LCBG-3Y5, while strain LCBG-3Y8 was highly resistant to ethanol and the most fructophilic of the mezcal strains. Strain LCBG-3Y5 produced more glycerol (4.4 g l-1) and acetic acid (1 g l-1) in M2 than in M1 (1.7 and 0.5 g l-1, respectively), and the ethanol yields were higher for all strains in M1 except for LCBG-3Y5, -3Y8 and the Fermichamp strain. In medium M3, only the Fermichamp strain was able to fully consume the 100 g of fructose l-1 but left a residual 32 g of glucose l-1.
Regarding the hexose transporters, a high number of amino acid polymorphisms were found in the Hxt1p sequences. Strain LCBG-3Y8 exhibited eight unique amino acid changes, followed by the Fermichamp strain with three changes. In Hxt3p, we observed nine amino acid polymorphisms unique for the Fermichamp strain and five unique changes for the mezcal strains
Optimization of chaotic micromixers using finite time Lyapunov exponents
In microfluidics mixing of different fluids is a highly non-trivial task due to the absence of turbulence. The dominant process allowing mixing at low Reynolds number is therefore diffusion, thus rendering mixing in plain channels very inefficient. Recently, passive chaotic micromixers such as the staggered herringbone mixer were developed, allowing efficient mixing of fluids by repeated stretching and folding of the fluid interfaces. The optimization of the geometrical parameters of such mixer devices is often performed by time consuming and expensive trial and error experiments. We demonstrate that the application of the lattice Boltzmann method to fluid flow in highly complex mixer geometries together with standard techniques from statistical physics and dynamical systems theory can lead to a highly efficient way to optimize micromixer geometries. The strategy applies massively parallel fluid flow simulations inside a mixer, where massless and noninteracting tracer particles are introduced. By following their trajectories we can calculate finite time Lyapunov exponents in order to quantify the degree of chaotic advection inside the mixer. The current report provides a review of our results published in [1] together with additional details on the simulation methodology
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