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Quantitative comparison of thermal and solutal transport in a T-mixer by FLIM and CFD

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Abstract

The development and adoption of lab-on-a-chip and micro-TAS (total analysis system) techniques requires not only the solving of design and manufacturing issues, but also the introduction of reliable and quantitative methods of analysis. In this work, two complementary tools are applied to the study of thermal and solutal transport in liquids. The experimental determination of the concentration of water in a water–methanol mixture and of the temperature of water in a microfluidic T-mixer are achieved by means of fluorescence lifetime imaging microscopy (FLIM). The results are compared to those of finite volume simulations based on tabulated properties and well-established correlations for the fluid properties. The good correlation between experimental and modelled results demonstrate without ambiguity that (1) the T-mixer is an adiabatic system within the conditions, fluids and flow rates used in this study, (2) buoyancy effects influence the mixing of liquids of different densities at moderate flow rates (Reynolds number Re ≪ 10−2), and (3) the combination of FLIM and computational fluid dynamics has the potential to be used to measure the thermal and solutal diffusion coefficients of fluids for a range of temperatures and concentrations in one single experiment. As such, it represents a first step towards the full-field monitoring of both the extent and the kinetics of a chemical reaction.

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Notes

  1. The experiments carried-out in this work were not performed in a clean room, and microscopic dust particles or fibres often got trapped in the devices. In some cases, as observed here, the flow rate was not high enough to remove them. Although they have little influence on the flow pattern of the global domain, they disturb the local flow velocity enough that their effect is observable through a secondary measurand (temperature or concentration). Some micro-filters and fluid handling procedures are being developed to overcome these disagreements.

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Acknowledgments

This research was carried out as part of the “Measurement for Emerging Technologies” programme funded by the National Measurement Systems Directorate of the UK Department of Trade and Industry, and was supported by the EPSRC Insight Faraday Partnership in the form of a studentship for EMG and the SHEFC funding for COSMIC. The authors also wish to acknowledge J. K. Platten and P. G. de Gennes for useful discussions on diffusion models and the measurement of diffusion in fluid systems.

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  1. Emmelyn M. Graham

    Present address: TUV NEL, East Kilbride, Glasgow, G75 0QU, UK

Authors and Affiliations

  1. National Physical Laboratory, Hampton Road, Teddington, TW11 0LW, UK

    David-A. Mendels

  2. Collaborative Optical Spectroscopy, Micromanipulation and Imaging Centre (COSMIC) and the School of Chemistry, The University of Edinburgh, King’s Building, Edinburgh, EH9 3JZ, UK

    Emmelyn M. Graham, Steven W. Magennis & Anita C. Jones

  3. Cognoscens, 35 Crs d’Herbouville, 69004, Lyon, France

    François Mendels

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  1. David-A. Mendels
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Correspondence to David-A. Mendels.

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Mendels, DA., Graham, E.M., Magennis, S.W. et al. Quantitative comparison of thermal and solutal transport in a T-mixer by FLIM and CFD. Microfluid Nanofluid 5, 603–617 (2008). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10404-008-0269-5

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