Abstract
In this paper, numerical analysis and experimental investigation of a micromixer, which was specifically designed for microfluidic devices fabricated by micromilling, is presented. The mixer is composed of series of contractions and expansions in zigzag arrangement along a mixing channel. Mixers, fabricated by micromilling on polymethylmethacrylate (PMMA), were tested with %0.1 Ponceau 4R red food dye solution and distilled water. According to experiment results, over 70% mixing efficiency could be obtained for the flows with Reynolds number (Re) greater than 40. It was also numerically shown that by increasing the number of successive contractions and expansions, it could be possible to achieve over 80% mixing efficiency when Re = 55 for the species with diffusion coefficient of 5 × 10−9 m2/s. Although the micromixer was specifically designed for micromilling, it is expected that the mixer can be useful in any microfluidic device fabricated by any other technique.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Afzal A, Kim KY (2015) Convergent–divergent micromixer coupled with pulsatile flow. Sens Actuators B Chem 211:198–205. doi:10.1016/j.snb.2015.01.062
Bau HH, Zhong J, Yi M (2001) A minute magneto hydro dynamic (MHD) mixer. Sens Actuators Chem 79:207–215. doi:10.1016/S0925-4005(01)00851-6
Bhagat AAS, Papautsky I (2008) Enhancing particle dispersion in a passive planar micromixer using rectangular obstacles. J Micromech Microeng 18:85005. doi:10.1088/0960-1317/18/8/085005
Bhagat AAS, Peterson ETK, Papautsky I (2007) A passive planar micromixer with obstructions for mixing at low Reynolds numbers. J Micromech Microeng 17:1017–1024. doi:10.1088/0960-1317/17/5/023
Bottausci F, Cardonne C, Meinhart C, Mezić I (2007) An ultrashort mixing length micromixer: the shear superposition micromixer. Lab Chip 7:396–398. doi:10.1039/b616104a
Cha J, Kim J, Ryu SK, Park J, Jeong Y, Park S, Chun K (2006) A highly efficient 3D micromixer using soft PDMS bonding. J Micromech Microeng 16:1778–1782. doi:10.1088/0960-1317/16/9/004
Cheaib F, Kekejian G, Antoun S, Cheikh M, Lakkis I (2016) Microfluidic mixing using pulsating flows. Microfluid Nanofluid 20:70. doi:10.1007/s10404-016-1731-4
Duffy DC, McDonald JC, Schueller OJ, Whitesides GM (1998) Rapid prototyping of microfluidic systems in poly(dimethylsiloxane). Anal Chem 70:4974–4984. doi:10.1021/ac980656z
Gibbings JC (2011) Dimensional analysis. Springer-Verlag, London
Glasgow I, Aubry N (2003) Enhancement of microfluidic mixing using time pulsing. Lab Chip 3:114–120. doi:10.1039/B302569A
Goenaga I, Goenaga I, Lizuain I, Ozaita M (2005) Femtosecond laser ablation for microfluidics. Opt Eng 44:51105. doi:10.1117/1.1902783
Guckenberger DJ, de Groot TE, Wan AMDD, Beebe DJ, Young EWK (2015) Micromilling: a method for ultra-rapid prototyping of plastic microfluidic devices. Lab Chip 15:2364–2378. doi:10.1039/C5LC00234F
Harnett CK, Templeton J, Dunphy-Guzman KA, Senousy YM, Kanouff MP (2008) Model based design of a microfluidic mixer driven by induced charge electroosmosis. Lab Chip 8:565. doi:10.1039/b717416k
Huang P-H, Xie Y, Ahmed D, Rufo J, Nama N, Chen Y, Huang TJ (2013) An acoustofluidic micromixer based on oscillating sidewall sharp-edges. Lab Chip 13:3847–3852. doi:10.1039/c3lc50568e
Klank H, Kutter JP, Geschke O (2002) CO2-laser micromachining and back-end processing for rapid production of PMMA-based microfluidic systems. Lab Chip 2:242. doi:10.1039/b206409j
Kricka LJ, Fortina P, Panaro NJ, Wilding P, Alonso-Amigo G, Becker H (2002) Fabrication of plastic microchips by hot embossing. Lab Chip 2:1–4. doi:10.1039/b109775j
Lee C-Y, Lee G-B, Fu L-M, Lee K-H, Yang R-J (2004) Electrokinetically driven active micro-mixers utilizing zeta potential variation induced by field effect. J Micromech Microeng 14:1390–1398. doi:10.1088/0960-1317/14/10/014
Lee SW, Kim DS, Lee SS, Kwon TH (2006) A split and recombination micromixer fabricated in a PDMS three-dimensional structure. J Micromech Microeng 16:1067–1072. doi:10.1088/0960-1317/16/5/027
Lee MG, Choi S, Park J-K (2009) Rapid laminating mixer using a contraction-expansion array microchannel. Appl Phys Lett 95:51902. doi:10.1063/1.3194137
Lee MG, Choi S, Park J-K (2010) Rapid multivortex mixing in an alternately formed contraction-expansion array microchannel. Biomed Microdevices 12:1019–1026. doi:10.1007/s10544-010-9456-8
Luong T-D, Phan V-N, Nguyen N-T (2011) High-throughput micromixers based on acoustic streaming induced by surface acoustic wave. Microfluid Nanofluid 10:619–625. doi:10.1007/s10404-010-0694-0
Munson MS, Yager P (2004) Simple quantitative optical method for monitoring the extent of mixing applied to a novel microfluidic mixer. Anal Chim Acta 507:63–71. doi:10.1016/j.aca.2003.11.064
Ng WY, Goh S, Lam YC, Yang C, Rodríguez I (2009) DC-biased AC-electroosmotic and AC-electrothermal flow mixing in microchannels. Lab Chip 9:802–809. doi:10.1039/B813639D
Nguyen N-T, Wu Z (2005) Micromixers—a review. J Micromech Microeng 15:R1–R16. doi:10.1088/0960-1317/15/2/R01
Stroock AD, Dertinger SKW, Ajdari A, Mezic I, Stone HA, Whitesides GM (2002a) Chaotic mixer for microchannels. Science 295:647–651. doi:10.1126/science.1066238
Stroock AD, Dertinger SK, Whitesides GM, Ajdari A (2002b) Patterning flows using grooved surfaces. Anal Chem 74:5306–5312. doi:10.1021/ac0257389
Sudarsan A, Ugaz V (2006) Multivortex micromixing. Proc Natl Acad Sci USA 103:7228–7233. doi:10.1073/pnas.0507976103
Tabeling P, Chabert M, Dodge A, Jullien C, Okkels F (2004) Chaotic mixing in cross-channel micromixers. Philos Trans Royal Soc Lond A Math Phys Eng Sci 362:987–1000. doi:10.1098/rsta.2003.1358
Tofteberg T, Skolimowski M, Andreassen E, Geschke O (2010) A novel passive micromixer: lamination in a planar channel system. Microfluid Nanofluid 8:209–215. doi:10.1007/s10404-009-0456-z
Tseng W-K, Lin J-L, Sung W-C, Chen S-H, Lee G-B (2006) Active micro-mixers using surface acoustic waves on Y-cut 128° LiNbO3. J Micromech Microeng 16:539–548. doi:10.1088/0960-1317/16/3/009
Wang Y, Zhe J, Chung BTF, Dutta P (2008) A rapid magnetic particle driven micromixer. Microfluid Nanofluid 4:375–389. doi:10.1007/s10404-007-0188-x
Wong SH, Bryant P, Ward M, Wharton C (2003) Investigation of mixing in a cross-shaped micromixer with static mixing elements for reaction kinetics studies. Sens Actuators Chem 95:414–424. doi:10.1016/S0925-4005(03)00447-7
Zhu G-P, Nguyen N-T (2012) Rapid magnetofluidic mixing in a uniform magnetic field. Lab Chip 12:4772–4780. doi:10.1039/c2lc40818j
Acknowledgement
This work was supported by The Scientific and Technological Research Council of Turkey (TUBITAK) under Grant Number 114E098. The author thanks Middle East Technical University for the computational facilities and Ferah Cogun for the fabrication of the micromixers.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Yıldırım, E. Analysis and testing of a contraction-and-expansion micromixer for micromilled microfluidics. Microsyst Technol 23, 4797–4804 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00542-017-3291-2
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00542-017-3291-2