This paper reports the improvement of rectification effects in diffuser/nozzle structures with viscoelastic fluids. Since rectification in a diffuser/nozzle structure with Newtonian fluids is caused by inertial effects, micropumps based on this concept require a relatively high Reynolds numbers and high pumping frequencies. In applications with relatively low Reynolds numbers, anisotropic behavior can be achieved with viscoelastic effects. In our investigations, a solution of dilute polyethylene oxide was used as the viscoelastic fluid. A microfluidic device was fabricated in silicon using deep reactive ion etching. The microfluidic device consists of access ports for pressure measurement, and a series of ten diffuser/nozzle structures. Measurements were carried out for diffuser/nozzle structures with opening angles ranging from 15° to 60°. Flow visualization, pressure drop and diodicity of de-ionized water and the viscoelastic fluid were compared and discussed. The improvement of diodicity promises a simple pumping concept at low Reynolds numbers for lab-on-a-chip applications.
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September 2008
Research Article|
July 08 2008
Improvement of rectification effects in diffuser/nozzle structures with viscoelastic fluids
Nam-Trung Nguyen;
Nam-Trung Nguyen
a)
1School of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering,
Nanyang Technological University
, 50 Nanyang Avenue, Singapore 639798, Singapore
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Yee-Cheong Lam;
Yee-Cheong Lam
1School of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering,
Nanyang Technological University
, 50 Nanyang Avenue, Singapore 639798, Singapore
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Soon-Seng Ho;
Soon-Seng Ho
2School of Electronics and Electrical Engineering,
Singapore Polytechnic
, 500 Dover Road, Singapore 139651, Singapore
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Cassandra Lee-Ngo Low
Cassandra Lee-Ngo Low
2School of Electronics and Electrical Engineering,
Singapore Polytechnic
, 500 Dover Road, Singapore 139651, Singapore
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a)
Electronic address: mntnguyen@ntu.edu.sg.
Biomicrofluidics 2, 034101 (2008)
Article history
Received:
May 22 2008
Accepted:
June 21 2008
Citation
Nam-Trung Nguyen, Yee-Cheong Lam, Soon-Seng Ho, Cassandra Lee-Ngo Low; Improvement of rectification effects in diffuser/nozzle structures with viscoelastic fluids. Biomicrofluidics 1 September 2008; 2 (3): 034101. https://doi.org/10.1063/1.2959099
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