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Abstract:
Droplet merging and splitting are important droplet manipulations in droplet-based microfluidics. However, the fundamental flow behaviors of droplets were not systematically studied. Hence, we designed two different microstructures to achieve droplet merging and splitting respectively, and quantitatively compared different flow dynamics in different microstructures for droplet merging and splitting via micro-particle image velocimetry (micro-PIV) experiments. Some flow phenomena of droplets different from previous studies were observed during merging and splitting using a high-speed microscope. It was also found the obtained instantaneous velocity vector fields of droplets have significant influence on the droplets merging and splitting. For droplet merging, the probability of droplets coalescence (eta) in a microgroove is higher (50% < eta < 92%) than that in a T-junction microchannel (15% < eta < 50%), and the highest coalescence efficiency (eta = 92%) comes at the two-phase flow ratio e of 0.42 in the microgroove. Moreover, compared with a cylinder obstacle, Y-junction bifurcation can split droplets more effectively and the droplet flow during splitting is steadier. The results can provide better understanding of droplet behaviors and are useful for the design and applications of droplet-based microfluidics.
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Source :
MICROFLUIDICS AND NANOFLUIDICS
ISSN: 1613-4982
Year: 2017
Issue: 4
Volume: 21
2 . 8 0 0
JCR@2022
ESI Discipline: ENGINEERING;
ESI HC Threshold:165
CAS Journal Grade:2
Cited Count:
WoS CC Cited Count: 35
SCOPUS Cited Count: 36
ESI Highly Cited Papers on the List: 0 Unfold All
WanFang Cited Count:
Chinese Cited Count:
30 Days PV: 7
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