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Encyclopedia of Microfluidics and Nanofluidics pp 1–13Cite as

Flow Bifurcation in Microchannel

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Synonyms

Bifurcating microchannel; T-junction

Definition

Flow bifurcation in microchannels is discussed in this entry. In this entry, flow bifurcation refers to geometrical bifurcation. Specifically, the transport of droplets in microchannel where a mother branch bifurcates into two daughter branches with thermocapillary effects is examined.

Overview

Microchannel bifurcations have been employed in manipulating droplets. These manipulations include but are not limited to droplet fusion and splitting. Fusing of droplets has been demonstrated using a microchannel with three bifurcating branches [1]. A bifurcating T-junction can be employed to split a droplet into two daughter droplets of smaller size [2]. The relative size of the two daughter droplets is determined by the length of the branches. A longer branch creates larger resistance to flow, therefore creating smaller daughter droplet. In the extreme case where one of the branches is sufficiently long, the droplet does not break but...

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References

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, Nanyang Technological University, 50 Nanyang Avenue, 639798, Singapore, Singapore

    Y. F. Yap, Yali Zhang, Teck Neng Wong & Nam-Trung Nguyen

  2. Department of Mechanical Engineering, The Petroleum Institute, 2533, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates

    John C. Chai

Authors
  1. Y. F. Yap
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  2. Yali Zhang
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  3. Teck Neng Wong
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  4. Nam-Trung Nguyen
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  5. John C. Chai
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Y. F. Yap .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. VU Station B 351592, Vanderbilt University Dept. Mechanical Engineering, Nashville, Tennessee, USA

    Dongqing Li

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© 2014 Springer Science+Business Media New York

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Cite this entry

Yap, Y.F., Zhang, Y., Wong, T.N., Nguyen, NT., Chai, J.C. (2014). Flow Bifurcation in Microchannel. In: Li, D. (eds) Encyclopedia of Microfluidics and Nanofluidics. Springer, Boston, MA. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-27758-0_539-2

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-27758-0_539-2

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  • Publisher Name: Springer, Boston, MA

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-642-27758-0

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