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Liquid Metal Actuator for Inducing Chaotic Advection
Author(s) -
Tang ShiYang,
Sivan Vijay,
Petersen Phred,
Zhang Wei,
Morrison Paul D.,
Kalantarzadeh Kourosh,
Mitchell Arnan,
Khoshmanesh Khashayar
Publication year - 2014
Publication title -
advanced functional materials
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 6.069
H-Index - 322
eISSN - 1616-3028
pISSN - 1616-301X
DOI - 10.1002/adfm.201400689
Subject(s) - actuator , marangoni effect , chaotic , materials science , advection , liquid metal , microfluidics , electrowetting , mechanics , nanotechnology , computer science , optoelectronics , physics , convection , artificial intelligence , composite material , thermodynamics , dielectric
Chaotic advection plays an important role in microplatforms for a variety of applications. Currently used mechanisms for inducing chaotic advection in small scale, however, are limited by their complicated fabrication processes and relatively high power consumption. Here, a soft actuator is reported which utilizes a droplet of Galinstan liquid metal to induce harmonic Marangoni flow at the surface of liquid metal when activated by a sinusoidal signal. This liquid metal actuator has no rigid parts and employs continuous electrowetting effect to induce chaotic advection with exceptionally low power consumption. The theory behind the operation of this actuator is developed and validated via a series of experiments. The presented actuator can be readily integrated into other microfluidic components for a wide range of applications.