Theory and numerical simulation of droplet dynamics in microchannel

• Main Author: Cai, Xibin
• Other Authors: Li Changming
• Format: Final Year Project
• Language: English
• Published: 2009
• Subjects: DRNTU::Engineering::Chemical engineering
• Online Access: http://hdl.handle.net/10356/16455
• Institution: Nanyang Technological University

Droplet based microfluidic system offers unique advantages compared to traditional microfluidic technology since its ability to generate droplets with size uniformity and controlled size dispersion. Microfluidic droplets allow individual micro to picoliter volumes of samples and reagents to be generated, transported, mixed, split, and analyzed with each droplet served as miniaturized laboratory. This unique feature has enabled microfluidic platform to find various chemical and biomedical applications such as biosensing, drug delivery and high throughput screening. One of the easiest ways to generate microdroplets is by water in oil emulsion at T junction or cross junction microchannel. There is a necessity to investigate on the parameters that determines the droplet size. It is argued that parameters such as interfacial tension, flow rates and viscosities of both continuous oil phase and disperse water phase can affect the droplet formation pattern. In this project, theoretical analysis and quantitative modeling of droplet formation will be reviewed first and then computational simulations will be carried out to verify the theory and existing research findings.