doi:10.3850/978-981-07-0319-6_233

ABSTRACT

Due to the absence of turbulent flow and the slow diffusion process, mixing of solutions at micro-scale is a difficult task. This paper describes the optimization route towards the efficient design of a bottom grooved micromixer. The optimization was performed using CFD numerical simulations and the starting geometry was a Staggered Herringbone Mixer (SHM) groove design. A simple novel optimization criteria, based on the magnitude of the average transversal flow velocity after one groove, is introduced. Newly developed designs were benchmarked against the original SHM design and better efficiency was achieved with applying only six grooves to the bottom of the microchannel. Optimized geometries are specially suited to be fabricated by micro engineering technologies. A prototype was machined by micro EDM milling. The simulated flow pattern was experimentally validated and excellent agreement was found between the simulation and experimental results. Due to simple 2.5D geometry and efficient mixing properties the proposed micromixer design is adequate to be used in the Lab-On-A-Chip (LOC) systems.

Keywords: Microfluidics, Microreactor, Micromixer, Micro EDM milling, FEM simulations, Design optimization.

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