69 research outputs found
Tip streaming from drops flowing in a spiral microchannel
This fluid dynamics video shows drops of water being transported by a mean
flow of oil, in a microchannel shaped as a logarithmic spiral. The channel
shape means that the drops are submitted to an increasing shear and elongation
as they flow nearer to the center of the spiral. A critical point is reached at
which a long singular tail is observed behind the drops, indicating that the
drops are accelerating. This is called "Tip streaming".Comment: Abstract accompanying movie to the Gallery of Fluid Motion: APS-DFD
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Breaking anchored droplets in a microfluidic Hele-Shaw cell
We study microfluidic self digitization in Hele-Shaw cells using pancake
droplets anchored to surface tension traps. We show that above a critical flow
rate, large anchored droplets break up to form two daughter droplets, one of
which remains in the anchor. Below the critical flow velocity for breakup the
shape of the anchored drop is given by an elastica equation that depends on the
capillary number of the outer fluid. As the velocity crosses the critical
value, the equation stops admitting a solution that satisfies the boundary
conditions; the drop breaks up in spite of the neck still having finite width.
A similar breaking event also takes place between the holes of an array of
anchors, which we use to produce a 2D array of stationary drops in situ.Comment: 5 pages, 4 figures, to appear in Phys. Rev. Applie
Thermocapillary valve for droplet production and sorting
Droplets are natural candidates for use as microfluidic reactors, if active
control of their formation and transport can be achieved. We show here that
localized heating from a laser can block the motion of a water-oil interface,
acting as a microfluidic valve for two-phase flows. A theoretical model is
developed to explain the forces acting on a drop due to thermocapillary flow,
predicting a scaling law which favors miniaturization. Finally, we show how the
laser forcing can be applied to sorting drops, thus demonstrating how it may be
integrated in complex droplet microfluidic systems.Comment: Five pages, four figure
Flow distribution in parallel microfluidic networks and its effect on concentration gradient
International audienceThe architecture of microfluidic networks can significantly impact the flow distribution within its different branches and thereby influence tracer transport within the network. In this paper, we study the flow rate distribution within a network of parallel microfluidic channels with a single input and single output, using a combination of theoretical modeling and microfluidic experiments. Within the ladder network, the flow rate distribution follows a U-shaped profile, with the highest flow rate occurring in the initial and final branches. The contrast with the central branches is controlled by a single dimensionless parameter, namely, the ratio of hydrodynamic resistance between the distribution channel and the side branches. This contrast in flow rates decreases when the resistance of the side branches increases relative to the resistance of the distribution channel. When the inlet flow is composed of two parallel streams, one of which transporting a diffusing species, a concentration variation is produced within the side branches of the network. The shape of this concentration gradient is fully determined by two dimensionless parameters: the ratio of resistances, which determines the flow rate distribution, and the Peclet number, which characterizes the relative speed of diffusion and advection. Depending on the values of these two control parameters, different distribution profiles can be obtained ranging from a flat profile to a step distribution of solute, with well-distributed gradients between these two limits. Our experimental results are in agreement with our numerical model predictions, based on a simplified 2D advection-diffusion problem. Finally, two possible applications of this work are presented: the first one combines the present design with self-digitization principle to encapsulate the controlled concentration in nanoliter chambers, while the second one extends the present design to create a continuous concentration gradient within an open flow chamber. (C) 2015 AIP Publishing LLC
Trapping microfluidic drops in wells of surface energy
International audienceA small hole etched in the top of a wide microchannel creates a well of surface energy for a confined drop. This produces an attractive force F ? equal to the energy gradient, which is estimated from geometric arguments. We use the drag Fd from an outer flow to probe the trapping mechanism. When Fd < F?, the drop deforms but remains anchored to the hole. Its shape provides information about the pressure field. At higher flow velocities, the drop detaches, defining a critical capillary number for which Fd=F?. The measured anchoring force agrees with the geometric model. © 2011 American Physical Society
Behavior of liquid plugs at bifurcations in a microfluidic tree network
International audienceFlows in complex geometries, such as porous media or biological networks, often contain plugs of liquid flowing within air bubbles. These flows can be modeled in microfluidic devices in which the geometric complexity is well defined and controlled. We study the flow of wetting liquid plugs in a bifurcating network of micro-channels. In particular, we focus on the process by which the plugs divide as they pass each bifurcation. The key events are identified, corresponding to large modifications of the interface curvature, the formation of new interfaces, or the division of a single interface into two new ones. The timing of the different events and the amplitude of the curvature variations are analyzed in view of the design of an event-driven model of flow in branching micro-networks. They are found to collapse onto a master curve dictated by the network geometry. (C) 2012 American Institute of Physics. [http://dx.doi.org/10.1063/1.4739072
Capillary origami: spontaneous wrapping of a droplet with an elastic sheet
The interaction between elasticity and capillarity is used to produce three
dimensional structures, through the wrapping of a liquid droplet by a planar
sheet. The final encapsulated 3D shape is controlled by tayloring the initial
geometry of the flat membrane. A 2D model shows the evolution of open sheets to
closed structures and predicts a critical length scale below which
encapsulation cannot occur, which is verified experimentally. This {\it
elastocapillary length} is found to depend on the thickness as , a
scaling favorable to miniaturization which suggests a new way of mass
production of 3D micro- or nano-scale objects.Comment: 5 pages, 5 figure
Quantitative analysis of the dripping and jetting regimes in co-flowing capillary jets
We study a liquid jet that breaks up into drops in an external co-flowing
liquid inside a confining microfluidic geometry. The jet breakup can occur
right after the nozzle in a phenomenon named dripping or through the generation
of a liquid jet that breaks up a long distance from the nozzle, which is called
jetting. Traditionally, these two regimes have been considered to reflect the
existence of two kinds of spatiotemporal instabilities of a fluid jet, the
dripping regime corresponding to an absolutely unstable jet and the jetting
regime to a convectively unstable jet. Here, we present quantitative
measurements of the dripping and jetting regimes, both in an unforced and a
forced state, and compare these measurements with recent theoretical studies of
spatiotemporal instability of a confined liquid jet in a co-flowing liquid. In
the unforced state, the frequency of oscillation and breakup of the liquid jet
is measured and compared to the theoretical predictions. The dominant frequency
of the jet oscillations as a function of the inner flow rate agrees
qualitatively with the theoretical predictions in the jetting regime but not in
the dripping regime. In the forced state, achieved with periodic laser heating,
the dripping regime is found to be insensitive to the perturbation and the
frequency of drop formation remains unaltered. The jetting regime, on the
contrary, amplifies the externally imposed frequency, which translates in the
formation of drops at the frequency imposed by the external forcing. In
conclusion, the dripping and jetting regimes are found to exhibit the main
features of absolutely and convectively unstable flows respectively, but the
frequency selection in the dripping regime is not ruled by the absolute
frequency predicted by the stability analysis.Comment: 10 pages, 12 figures, to appear in Physics of Fluid
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