Numerical optimization of passive chaotic micromixers

Abstract

Due to the lack of turbulence in micromixers diffusion is the main process contributing to microfluidic mixing. Especially mixing of uids with low diffusivity is a difficult task. The recently discovered mechanism of "chaotic-advection" enhances the diffusion process by stretching and folding the fluid interfaces in order to provide a larger interface. Certain passive micromixers like the staggered herringbone mixer (SHM) apply this concept and succeed in enhancing the mixing process considerably. The optimization of such micromixers is a time consuming and often expensive process. We demonstrate that the application of the lattice Boltzmann (LB) method to study advection and diffusion processes can be an efficient tool to optimize micromixers. By combining finite time Lyapunov exponents to study chaotic advection and Danckwert's intensity of segregation to study the diffusion, we demonstrate how optimal geometrical parameters for the SHM can be found and how diffusion is improved by the complex ow pattern inside the mixer. The current article provides a review of our results published in [1] together with additional studies on modelling diffusive mixing with the LB method.