Vortex-Assisted Mixing in Microscale Flows

Abstract

Microscale mixing in fluidic devices offers several advantages, including reduced sample volume, portability, cost-effectiveness, safe handling of hazardous materials, compact size, and biodegradability. Efficient mixing is crucial for various microfluidic processes, particularly in biochemical and medical diagnostics. Several studies investigated in this thesis focus on enhancing vortex-assisted mixing in microfluidic devices through both passive and active approaches. The challenge lies in achieving efficient mixing in the confined space of microfluidic/nanofluidic pathways, which has led to exploring secondary flows to boost advection over molecular diffusion. This involves implementing passive methods, such as introducing inlet swirl, and active methods, like applying an external electrical field, all within the constraints of a narrow-fluidic channel. The dissertation outlines objectives and analyzes each application in detail across respective chapters.