In this study, a three-dimensional (3D) micromixer with cross-linked double helical microchannels is studied to achieve rapid mixing of fluids at low Reynolds numbers (Re). The 3D micromixer takes full advantages of the chaotic advection model with helical microchannels; meanwhile, the proposed crossing structure of double helical microchannels enables two flow patterns of repelling flow and straight flow in the fluids to promote the agitation effect. The complex 3D micromixer is realized by an improved femtosecond laser wet etching (FLWE) technology embedded in fused silica. The mixing results show that cross-linked double helical microchannels can achieve excellent mixing within 3 cycles (300 μm) over a wide range of low Re (1.5×10^-3~600), which compare well with the conventional passive micromixers. This highly-effective micromixer is hoped to contribute to the integration of microfluidic systems.

Date Published: 19 February 2015
PDF: 4 pages
Proc. SPIE 9449, The International Conference on Photonics and Optical Engineering (icPOE 2014), 94493S (19 February 2015); doi: 10.1117/12.2083272

Published in SPIE Proceedings Vol. 9449:
The International Conference on Photonics and Optical Engineering (icPOE 2014)
Ailing Tian; Anand Asundi; Weiguo Liu; Chunmin Zhang, Editor(s)