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.
Skip Nav Destination
Article navigation
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
Search for other works by this author on:
Yee-Cheong Lam;
Yee-Cheong Lam
1School of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering,
Nanyang Technological University
, 50 Nanyang Avenue, Singapore 639798, Singapore
Search for other works by this author on:
Soon-Seng Ho;
Soon-Seng Ho
2School of Electronics and Electrical Engineering,
Singapore Polytechnic
, 500 Dover Road, Singapore 139651, Singapore
Search for other works by this author on:
Cassandra Lee-Ngo Low
Cassandra Lee-Ngo Low
2School of Electronics and Electrical Engineering,
Singapore Polytechnic
, 500 Dover Road, Singapore 139651, Singapore
Search for other works by this author on:
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
Download citation file:
Sign in
Don't already have an account? Register
Sign In
You could not be signed in. Please check your credentials and make sure you have an active account and try again.
Pay-Per-View Access
$40.00
Citing articles via
An in vitro multi-organ microphysiological system (MPS) to investigate the gut-to-brain translocation of neurotoxins
Emily J. Jones, Benjamin M. Skinner, et al.
A traveling surface acoustic wave-based micropiezoactuator: A tool for additive- and label-free cell lysis
Sushama Agarwalla, Sunil Kumar Singh, et al.
pH effects on capture efficiency and deposition patterns in sessile droplet immunoassays: An XDLVO analysis
Vidisha Singh Rathaur, Nachiket Aashish Gokhale, et al.