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Droplet generation in co-flow microfluidic channels with vibration

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Abstract

We quantitatively characterize the perturbed droplet generation in co-flow microfluidics with mechanical vibration by estimating the fluctuations in the flow rate of inner fluid. We show the variation of generation frequency and uniformity of droplets as the frequency and amplitude of vibration. Synchronized droplet generation occurs in certain range of the vibration frequency that is predicted by our model. Besides, we scale the droplet size by incorporating the effects of vibration, inner and outer flows. The vibration is found to be capable of promoting the dripping, suppressing the jetting and even shifting the jetting into the dripping when the jet length is sufficiently short. The delayed dripping–jetting transition is characterized in a phase diagram by taking vibration into consideration. Our results unveil the mechanism of mechanically perturbed droplet generation and provide valuable guidelines for practical applications of vibration-enhanced droplet generation.

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Acknowledgments

The authors wish to thank Dr. Ho Cheung Shum for the generous use of mechanical vibrator. The financial support from the Research Grants Council of Hong Kong (GRF 17211115, GRF17207914, GRF HKU717613E, GRF HKU718111E) and the University of Hong Kong (URC 201511159108, 201411159074 and 201311159187) is gratefully acknowledged. The work is also supported in part by the Zhejiang Provincial, Hangzhou Municipal and Lin’an County Governments.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Mechanical Engineering, The University of Hong Kong, Pokfulam Road, Hong Kong

    Pingan Zhu, Xin Tang & Liqiu Wang

  2. HKU-Zhejiang Institute of Research and Innovation (HKU-ZIRI), Hangzhou, 311300, Zhejiang, China

    Pingan Zhu, Xin Tang & Liqiu Wang

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  1. Pingan Zhu
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  2. Xin Tang
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Correspondence to Liqiu Wang.

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Zhu, P., Tang, X. & Wang, L. Droplet generation in co-flow microfluidic channels with vibration. Microfluid Nanofluid 20, 47 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10404-016-1717-2

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