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The holy grail of microfluidics: sub-laminar drag by layout of periodically embedded microgrooves

Microfluidics and Nanofluidics volume 15, pages 675–687 (2013)Cite this article

Abstract

The sub-laminar drag effect of microgroove surfaces was studied numerically in a steady two-dimensional channel flow at subcritical Reynolds numbers. Considerations are restricted to grooves of a few viscous length scales in depth, which are assumed not to promote the laminar to turbulent transition process. It was found that the drag reduction effect is due to the layout of grooves with respect to the flow direction and contour geometry. Results of computations show that for grooves of curved contour placed normal to the flow direction, drag arising from viscous and pressure forces is modulated due to the functional dependence of forces on the surface area projected in the flow direction. Such a groove layout leads to a large skin-friction reduction, but a comparable increase in pressure drag results in sub-laminar drag if drag over flat surface is considered as a reference. For a curved groove contour, the drag reduction increases with increasing Reynolds number and reaches about 5 % at Reynolds numbers approaching critical.

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Acknowledgments

This work was initially sponsored by grant Jo 240/5-3. Additional support was obtained from the the Center for Smart Interfaces at the Technische Universität Darmstadt and from the Cluster of Excellence Engineering of Advanced Materials at the University of Erlangen-Nuremberg. In the later stages, the work received support from grant FR 2823/2-1. All fundings were provided by the German Research Foundation (DFG).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Center of Smart Interfaces, Technische Universität Darmstadt, Petersenstrasse 32, 64287, Darmstadt, Germany

    Gerti Daschiel & Jovan Jovanović

  2. CD-adapco, Nordost Park 3-5, 90411, Nuremberg, Germany

    Milovan Perić

  3. Institute of Fluid Mechanics, Friedrich-Alexander University Erlangen-Nuremberg, Cauerstrasse 4, 91058, Erlangen, Germany

    Jovan Jovanović & Antonio Delgado

Authors
  1. Gerti Daschiel
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  2. Milovan Perić
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  3. Jovan Jovanović
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  4. Antonio Delgado
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Correspondence to Jovan Jovanović.

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Daschiel, G., Perić, M., Jovanović, J. et al. The holy grail of microfluidics: sub-laminar drag by layout of periodically embedded microgrooves. Microfluid Nanofluid 15, 675–687 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10404-013-1182-0

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Keywords

  • Viscous drag reduction
  • Drag reduction surfaces
  • Flow control
  • Viscous flow
  • Wall-bounded flows