Crosswise ridge micromixers with split and recombination helical flows

Abstract

This study presents a novel crosswise ridge micromixer (CRM) with a series of microstructures placed on the top and bottom floors of channels. Passive micromixers fabricated by Micro Electro-Mechanical Systems (MEMS) technologies with slanted ridges are investigated. Numerical simulations and experimental investigations are undertaken to determine the effects of various microstructure patterns on mixing efficiency with Reynolds numbers (Re) of 0.05-50. The confocal images at the cross-sections along the channel with ridges on both the channel top and bottom are first investigated in our study. A significant amount of split and recombination (SAR) helical flows is produced by the slanted ridges embedded on the two floors of the channels. The effects of non-dimensional parameters, such as the Re, as well as geometrical parameters on mixing performance are presented in terms of the mixing index. When the Re exceeds 1, the mixing index of the micromixer with slanted ridges increases as the Re increases further. Simulation results are presented and compared with experimental data. The trends of the experimental results and numerical data are very similar. Finally, various numbers of slanted ridges in the same orientation in one channel cycle are investigated to determine mixing performance in microchannels. The mixing performance achieves an optimum value in case where the number of ridges per cycle is equal to 8. (C) 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.