EXPERIMENTAL TEST AND NUMERICAL SIMULATION OF SUBMILLIFLUIDIC DROPLET GENERATOR DEVICE WITH FLOW-FOCUSING GEOMETRY
Droplet-based fluidic technology is widely developed for various applications in chemistry, biology, and healthcare, such as biomedical imaging and biomolecule synthesis. This technology can be implemented in various scales, including microfluidics (<500 ?m), submillifluidics (500-1000 ?m), and m...
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| Format: | Final Project |
| Language: | Indonesia |
| Online Access: | https://digilib.itb.ac.id/gdl/view/83630 |
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| Institution: | Institut Teknologi Bandung |
| Language: | Indonesia |
| Summary: | Droplet-based fluidic technology is widely developed for various applications in chemistry, biology, and healthcare, such as biomedical imaging and biomolecule synthesis. This technology can be implemented in various scales, including microfluidics (<500 ?m), submillifluidics (500-1000 ?m), and millifluidics (>1000 ?m). Droplet-based fluidic technology typically utilizes a flow-focusing geometry to pinch a continuous fluid with a dispersed fluid at a channel junction. Droplet formation is usually investigated in microfluidic scales. Therefore, this research investigates droplet formation in a larger scale, namely submillifluidics.
The fluidic device performance is tested using experimental and numerical simulation methods. In the experimental method, the submillifluidic device is fabricated using a stereolithography-based 3D printer, and its performance is tested using a syringe pump to control the fluids entering the device. Droplet formation results are obtained in the form of two-dimensional images, which are then processed to obtain information regarding droplet characteristics using ImageJ software. In the numerical simulation method, the computational fluid dynamics (CFD) principle with a two-dimensional scheme is used, utilizing the finite element method (FEM) and level set method (LSM) with COMSOL Multiphysics software.
The submillifluidic device performance testing using experimental and numerical simulation methods produces droplets with high uniformity, less than 10%. Additionally, the testing results provide an analysis of the effect of parameter variations on droplet formation, such as the effect of flow rate and channel junction angle in the submillifluidic device. A relationship between the experimental and numerical simulation results is obtained, with most correlation coefficient values exceeding 0.9 and p-values less than 0.05.
Keywords: droplet formation, submillifluidics, |
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