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Flow rate effect on droplet control in a co-flowing microfluidic device

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Abstract

Flow rate effect on droplet formation in a co-flowing microfluidic device is investigated numerically. Transition conditions are discovered that the droplet size is either approximately independent of or strongly dependent on the flow rate ratio. This phenomenon is explained by the relation between strain rate and droplet diameter. Regions of four drop patterns are demarcated and conditions that give polydisperse drops are described, which is helpful to assure the accuracy and efficiency in droplet production.

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Acknowledgments

The work is supported by NSFC (Project No: 10402044). We are grateful to Zhizhong Li for many inspiring discussions.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Fluid Machinery and Fluid Engineering, China Agricultural University, Beijing, 100083, China

    Yiping Hong & Fujun Wang

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  1. Yiping Hong
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  2. Fujun Wang
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Correspondence to Yiping Hong.

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Hong, Y., Wang, F. Flow rate effect on droplet control in a co-flowing microfluidic device. Microfluid Nanofluid 3, 341–346 (2007). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10404-006-0134-3

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10404-006-0134-3

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