Chapter 01:

Flows in micro-fluidic systems

Xiangyu Hu
Technical University of Munich
What is a micro-fluidic system?
A system manipulating fluids in channels having cross section
dimension on less than 100 micro-meters
Smallest micro-channel: Nano-tube
Micro-channels
Nano-tubes
The objectives of micro-fluidic systems
Micro-Total-Analysis-Systems
(TAS)
One system to provide all of
the possible required analyses
for a given type problem
All processing steps are
performed on the chip
No user interaction required
except for initialization
Portable bedside systems
possible
Lab-on-a-chip
Micro-fluidics in nature
Aveoli (Lung bubbles)
Micro-fluidics is Interdisciplinary
Micro-Fabrication
Chemistry
Biology
Mechanics
Control Systems
Micro-Scale Physics and Thermal/Fluidic Transport
Numerical Modeling
Simulation of micro-flows
Material Science

The fluids in micro-fluidic system
Simple fluids
liquids and gases
Complex fluids
immersed structures,
surfactants, polymers, DNA
Injection of a droplet into a micro-channel.
Polymer flow in a micro-channel
Cells in a micro-channel.
Typical fluidic components
Micro-channels and channel-
circuit
Functional structures
Micro-pump and switches
Mixing and separating devices
Channel-circuit
Typical functional structre
Electroosmotic Pumping
Length scales in micro-fluidic systems
Micro-channel
1mm
100m
10m
1m
100nm
10nm
Cellular scale
Radius of Gyration of DNA
Microstructure and micro-drops
Extended lenght of DNA
Typical size of a chip
Colloid and polymer molecular size
Deviations from continuum hypothesis for
micro-fluidics
I: gas microflows
Deviations from continuum hypothesis for micro-
fluidics
II: simple liquid micro-flows
How small should a volume of fluid be so that we can assign it mean properties?
Nano-meter scale
At what scales will the statistical fluctuations be significant?
Nano-meter scales
Deviations from continuum hypothesis for micro-
fluidics
II: simple liquid micro-flows
Slip at wall in nano-scale?
High shear rate
Hydrophobic surface
Deviations from continuum hypothesis for micro-
fluidics
III: micro-flows with complex fluids
Detailed modeling can not use
continuum model
Nano-Scale
DNA molecule stretched by flow
Nanowires deformed under shearing
Polymer molecules in a
channel flow
Conclusion on continuum hypothesis for
micro-fluidics
Dependent on length scales
Nano-meter scales: NO
Micro-meter scales: Yes, but NO for Gas
Influence on numerical method
Nano-meter scales: non- continuum
Micro- and meso-copic methods
Micro-meter scales: continuum
Macroscopic methods
Micro-meter scales for gas: non- continuum
Micro- and meso-copic methods
Nano- to micro-meter scales
Multi-scale modeling
Other flow features for micro-fluidics
Low Reynolds number flow
Large viscous force
Low Capillary number flow
Large surface force
High Peclet number flow
Disperse and diffusion
Slow diffusion effects
Special transport mechanism
Mixing: chaotic mixing
Separation: particle, polymer and DNA
Low Reynolds number flow (Stokes flow)
Reynolds number (Re) is the ratio between inertial force
to viscous force


Scaling between intertial force and viscous force in NS
equation
Length scale L
Velocity scale U



Flow classification based on Re
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gbDscDSUAg4&feature=channel_page
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2ghBUcQG1lQ&feature=channel_page
u u u
u
2
1
V + V = V +
c
c
v

p
t
Low Reynolds number flow (Stokes flow)
In micro-fluidics, Re<1
Laminar flow
the viscous force dominant the inertial force
Inertial irrelevance
Purcell 1977
http://www.youtube.com/user/Swimmers1
Low Capillary number flow
Capillary number (Ca) is the ratio between viscous force
to surface force


What is surface tension?
Stretch force along the material interface
o
U
Ca =
Low Capillary number flow
Capillary number (Ca) is the ratio between viscous force
to surface force


Scaling between viscous force and surface force in NS
equation
Length scale L
Velocity scale U
o
U
Ca =
( )
S S
p
t
o o ok

V + + V + V = V +
c
c
n u u u
u 1 1
2
Low Capillary number flow
In micro-fluidics, Ca <<1
Surface force dominant flow
Wetting effects
Micro-fluidic pin-ball: routing
High Peclet number flow
Peclet number (Pe) is the ratio advection rate of a flow to
its diffusion rate


Advection, diffusion and dispersion
Advection : transport that is due to flow
Diffusion: results from movement of particles along
concentration gradients
Dispersion: transport that describes local mixing, which results
in locally varying fluid flow velocity
D
LU
Pe =
http://ccl.northwestern.edu/netlogo/models/run.cgi?SolidDiffusion.591.481
High Peclet number flow
In most of the liquid flow, also
in micro-fluidics, Pe >>1
Strategy for faster mixing
increase the length of mixing
layer
Long channel
Long trajactory line: Chaotic
mixing (Use of disperseion)
Chaotic Mixing
Stretching and folding the
mixing layer by localized flows
Different approaches
Geometric structure
Surface tension effects
Electrohydrodynamically-
driven

Micro-fluidics crystallization system.
Electrohydrodynamically-driven
microfluidic mixing
Separation in micro-fluidics
External force used to move
the solute
Separating particle on different
mobility
Large mass, small velocity
Dielectric properties
Separating long DNAs
Long DNAs
Same mobility
Mechanism of separation
Weissenberger number:
relaxation time to shear
rate or flow time scale



Longer chain, longer
relaxation time
Longer chain, less diffusion
coefficient

= Wi
Separating long DNAs (1)
Separating long DNAs (1)
Numerical Modeling Challenges
Multi Physical Phenomenon
Thermal, Fluidic, Mechanical, Biological, Chemical, Electrical
Multi-scale
Continuum and atomistic modeling may coexist
Multi-phase
Gas, liquid
Complex fluids
Particle, nano-structures, polymer, DNA
Complex geometry