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Inertial effects on the generation of co-laminar flows

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  12 February 2015

William A. Braff ,
Martin Z. Bazant  and
Cullen R. Buie
William A. Braff
Affiliation:
Giner Inc., Newton, MA 02466, USA Department of Mechanical Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA 02139, USA
Martin Z. Bazant
Affiliation:
Departments of Chemical Engineering and Mathematics, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA 02139, USA
Cullen R. Buie*
Affiliation:
Department of Mechanical Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA 02139, USA
*
†Email address for correspondence: crb@mit.edu
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Abstract

The assumption of low Reynolds number flow, or Stokes flow, is often applied to the understanding of a broad range of microfluidic devices, including micro-reactors, biomedical devices, and membraneless electrochemical cells. However, recent studies have shown that various inertial effects can play a significant role, even in microfluidic systems. In this work, two- and three-dimensional secondary flows are identified in a generic rectangular flow channel design consisting of a secondary channel feeding fluid into a main channel. We identify a scaling argument which is able to predict the occurrence of these secondary flows as a function of system parameters. The impact of these behaviours on the assumption of fully developed colaminar flow is investigated. This work considers a representative geometry, and identifies a set of conditions where inertial effects can play a key role in a microfluidic device.

JFM classification

Reacting Flows: Laminar reacting flows Micro-/Nano-fluid dynamics: Microfluidics Micro-/Nano-fluid dynamics: Micro-/Nano-fluid dynamics
Type
Papers
Information
Journal of Fluid Mechanics , Volume 767 , 25 March 2015 , pp. 85 - 94
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Copyright
© 2015 Cambridge University Press 

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