Dynamics of Mixing Processes in the Micro-Mixer With Curved Bluff-Body Structure Under External Excitation

Abstract

This paper investigates the effects of external excitation on the mixing performance of the micromixer with curved bluff-body structure. The micromixer was fabricated by the MEMS process of polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS). The mixing process and mixing efficiency were evaluated with a high speed camera. Results showed that the finger-spiked type flow patterns were generated in the mixing chamber under an excitation frequency of 5Hz. It turns out that the mixing efficiency as high as 85.6% is achieved at Re=0.25 with a single bluff-body structure. It demonstrates that the new design can be used to achieve complete mixing within ultra short length at mciroscale.