DESIGN AND FABRICATION OF PLATFORM FLUIDS FOR DROPLET GENERATOR APPLICATIONS

• Main Author: Azhar Fa'iq, Muhammad
• Format: Final Project
• Language: Indonesia
• Online Access: https://digilib.itb.ac.id/gdl/view/70022
• Institution: Institut Teknologi Bandung

Microfluidics is a field of science and technology that focuses on the processing and manipulation of liquids or fluids with a scale of 10-9 to 10-18 liters. Microfluidic systems can be divided into several types based on the flow of the fluid such as droplet-based microfluids. Droplet-based microfluids utilize two types of immiscible fluids to form a discrete flow that resembles a droplet. This kind of flow is achieved using droplet generator. Droplet-based microfluidic systems are widely used in research and industry due to the various fluid flow properties that aid in analysis and manufacturing. Despite having various advantages, microfluidic systems including droplet generators have a complicated, costly, and time- consuming process. In this research, droplet generator is fabricated using 3D printing. Through 3D printing, droplet generator fabrication become simple, fast and low cost. The droplet generator that has been successfully fabricated is then tested for its performance. Flow rate and height of the generator droplet channel variation testing was also carried out to determine the effect of these factors on the formed droplets. Through several iterations, a droplet generator with a channel height of 0.5 mm and a width of 1 mm was successfully fabricated using the 3D printing method. The droplet generator can produce monodispersity droplets with an average length of 0.35 cm and a formation frequency of 26 droplets/minute at Qc = Qd = 2.5 ml/hour. Tests at various flow rates found changes in the length and frequency of droplet formation. Besides the same changes that are found in flow rates variation testing, at an inlet channel height of 1 mm, changes in droplet formation process are also observe. The change in formation causes the length and formation frequency of produced droplet to become unstable.