Numerical Study of 3D Mixing Efficiency of Micromixers with Side-Channels
Chen-I Hung, Ting-Ying Wei, Jen-Fu Hsiao and Cheng-I Ho
The complete mixing of two or more different fluids in the microscopic scale within a reasonable time period is an important issue in the Micro-Total-Analysis-System (mTAS). In this study, a novel passive micromixer with two feedback side-channels is proposed, and numerical simulations are performed to investigate the effects of the thickness of the micromixer on the fluidic mixing efficiency. It is found that as the thickness of micromixer increases, the mixing efficiency first decreases and then increases, whereas the pressure drop decreases monotonically. Numerical results indicate that there exists a threshold value of thickness of micromixer at which the fluid in the feedback side-channels would flow reversely back to the main channel and hence the mixing efficiency increases.