Simulation of immiscible liquid-liquid flows in complex microchannel geometries using a front-tracking scheme
File(s)Kahouadji2018_Article_SimulationOfImmiscibleLiquidLi.pdf (4.43 MB)
Published version
Author(s)
Type
Journal Article
Abstract
The three-dimensional two-phase flow dynamics inside a microfluidic device of complex geometry is simulated using a parallel, hybrid front-tracking/level-set solver. The numerical framework employed circumvents numerous meshing issues normally associated with constructing complex geometries within typical computational fluid dynamics packages. The device considered in the present work is constructed via a module that defines solid objects by means of a static distance function. The construction combines primitive objects, such as a cylinder, a plane, and a torus, for instance, using simple geometrical operations. The numerical solutions predicted encompass dripping and jetting, and transitions in flow patterns are observed featuring the formation of drops, ‘pancakes’, plugs, and jets, over a wide range of flow rate ratios. We demonstrate the fact that vortex formation accompanies the development of certain flow patterns, and elucidate its role in their underlying mechanisms. Experimental visualisation with a high-speed imaging are also carried out. The numerical predictions are in excellent agreement with the experimental data.
Date Issued
2018-11-01
Date Acceptance
2018-10-12
Citation
MICROFLUIDICS AND NANOFLUIDICS, 2018, 22 (11)
ISSN
1613-4982
Publisher
SPRINGER HEIDELBERG
Journal / Book Title
MICROFLUIDICS AND NANOFLUIDICS
Volume
22
Issue
11
Copyright Statement
© 2018 The Author(s). Open Access. This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons license, and indicate if changes were made.
Sponsor
Engineering & Physical Science Research Council (EPSRC)
Identifier
http://gateway.webofknowledge.com/gateway/Gateway.cgi?GWVersion=2&SrcApp=PARTNER_APP&SrcAuth=LinksAMR&KeyUT=WOS:000448401100001&DestLinkType=FullRecord&DestApp=ALL_WOS&UsrCustomerID=1ba7043ffcc86c417c072aa74d649202
Grant Number
EP/K003976/1
Subjects
Science & Technology
Technology
Physical Sciences
Nanoscience & Nanotechnology
Instruments & Instrumentation
Physics, Fluids & Plasmas
Science & Technology - Other Topics
Physics
Two-phase flow
Cross-junction
Pancakes
Plugs
Drops
Jets
CONTOUR RECONSTRUCTION METHOD
3-DIMENSIONAL MULTIPHASE FLOWS
NUMERICAL-SIMULATION
MICROFLUIDIC DEVICES
DROPLET FORMATION
SURFACE
FLUID
EMULSIFICATION
JUNCTION
Publication Status
Published
Article Number
ARTN 126
Date Publish Online
2018-10-25