Analytical relations for long-droplet breakup in asymmetric T junctions

Hydrodynamics of Droplet Sorting in Asymmetric Acute Junctions

Droplet sorting is one of the fundamental manipulations of droplet-based microfluidics. Although many sorting methods have already been proposed, there is still a demand to develop new sorting methods for various applications of droplet-based microfluidics. This work presents numerical investigations on droplet sorting with asymmetric acute junctions. It is found that the asymmetric acute junctions could achieve volume-based sorting and velocity-based sorting. The pressure distributions in the asymmetric junctions are discussed to reveal the physical mechanism behind the droplet sorting. The dependence of the droplet sorting on the droplet volume, velocity, and junction angle is explored. The possibility of the employment of the proposed sorting method in most real experiments is also discussed. This work provides a new, simple, and cost-effective passive strategy to separate droplets in microfluidic channels. Moreover, the proposed acute junctions could be used in combination with other sorting methods, which may boost more opportunities to sort droplets.

Tuning the Splitting Behavior of Droplet in a Bifurcating Channel through Wettability-Capillarity Interaction

We present a comprehensive computational physics-based study of the influence of surface wettability on the displacement behavior of a droplet in a three-dimensional bifurcating channel. Various surface wettability configurations for the daughter branches are considered to gain insight into the wettability-capillarity interaction. Also, the influence of initial droplet size on the splitting dynamics for different wettability configurations is investigated. Time evolution of the droplet displacement behavior in the bifurcating channel is discussed for different physicochemical parameters including capillary number and wettability. Three distinct flow regimes are identified as the droplet interacts with the bifurcating tip of the channel, namely, splitting, nonsplitting, and oscillating regimes. Furthermore, the occurrence of Rayleigh-Plateau instability in different wettability scenarios is discussed. Additionally, the intricacies associated with the droplet dynamics are elucidated through the temporal evolution of the droplet surface area and mass outflow of the continuous phase. A flow regime map based on the capillary number and wettability contrast of the daughter branches is proposed for a comprehensive description of the droplet dynamics.

A novel method for producing unequal sized droplets in micro- and nanofluidic channels

We propose a novel method for producing unequal sized droplets through breakup of droplets. This method does not have the disadvantages of the available methods and also reduces the dependence of the droplets volume ratio on the inlet velocity of the system by up to 26 percent. The employed method for investigating the proposed system relies on 3D numerical simulation using the VOF algorithm and the results have been obtained with various valve ratios for both the micro- and nanoscale. The results indicate that the droplet length during the breakup process increases linearly with time. The droplet length at the nanoscale is smaller than that at the micro scale. It has been shown that the maximum local capillary number in this system is 2.5 times the average capillary number. Therefore one can use the analytical theories based on the low capillary number assumptions to investigate the method.