Open AccessParticle Behavior in Curved Microchannels: Aspect Ratio Effects
Author(s) -
Yasutaka Hayamizu,
Ayano Nakamura,
Toru Hyakutake,
Takesi Gonda,
Shin Morita,
Shinya Ohtsuka,
Shinichiro Yanase
Publication year - 2021
Publication title -
journal of physics. conference series
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.21
H-Index - 85
eISSN - 1742-6596
pISSN - 1742-6588
DOI - 10.1088/1742-6596/1909/1/012062
Subject(s) - microchannel , sorting , particle (ecology) , microfluidics , mechanics , particle tracking velocimetry , tracking (education) , spiral (railway) , materials science , aspect ratio (aeronautics) , velocimetry , particle size , nanotechnology , physics , particle image velocimetry , mechanical engineering , computer science , chemistry , engineering , composite material , turbulence , psychology , pedagogy , oceanography , programming language , geology
The sorting devices of microfluidic systems operate by both passive and active mechanisms. The microchannels of these systems are often curved to cope with secondary flows, which allow sorting or mixing. Therefore, it is essential to characterize the secondary flows in microfluidic systems. In this study, we investigate the particle behavior in a spiral rectangular microchannel and clarify the effects of the aspect ratio and Dean number De on particle sorting by comparing experimental and numerical results. We fabricated Archimedean spiral microchannel models with the rectangular cross-section of millimeter-scale dimensions. Particle sorting in the microchannels was observed by the particle-tracking velocimetry (PTV) method. In addition, the particle-sorting mechanism was analyzed by the particle-tracking method in three-dimensional numerical simulations. When particle density exceeded water density, good sorting was observed when 20 < De < 40. The numerical particle-sorting behaviors agreed well with the experimental results.