Integrated microthermoelectric cooler for microfluidic channels

Rosengarten, Gary; Mutzenich, Simon; Kalantar‐zadeh, Kourosh

doi:10.1016/j.expthermflusci.2006.03.011

Cited by 16 publications

(8 citation statements)

References 12 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…The classical occurrence of two-phase flow includes the wide field of energy and process engineering with large-scale applications such as heat exchangers (Kattan et al, 1998;Kew and Cornwell, 1997;Thonon et al, 1995;Webb, 2004), chemical and biological reactors (Darmana et al, 2005;Dudukovic et al, 1999;Millies and Mewes, 1999;Vanhouten et al, 1994). Since the miniaturization trend of the electronics industry and decentralized energy conversion applications has initiated a host of innovative ideas in microfluidic applications such as Lab-on-Chip (Romera-Guereca et al, 2008), micro-chip cooling (Amon et al, 2001;Escher et al, 2009;Rosengarten et al, 2006;Senn and Poulikakos, 2004) or micro fuel cells (Choban et al, 2004;Hotz et al, 2006a,b;Senn and Poulikakos, 2005), a good understanding of the expected two-phase flow in the microchannels involved is necessary to design efficient devices. The many applications and technical occurrences (Gunther and Jensen, 2006;Joanicot and Ajdari, 2005;Kobayashi et al, 2004) combined with the complexity of the microscale physical phenomena involved, result in a challenging research task, even though large scale two-phase flow in channels has been reasonably well understood (Baker, 1954;Barnea and Taitel, 1993;Lockhart and Martinelli, 1949;Mandhane et al, 1974;Taitel and Dukler, 1976).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

On two-phase flow patterns and transition criteria in aqueous methanol and CO2 mixtures in adiabatic, rectangular microchannels

Weinmueller

Hotz

Mueller

et al. 2009

International Journal of Multiphase Flow

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

On two-phase flow patterns and transition criteria in aqueous methanol and CO2 mixtures in adiabatic, rectangular microchannels

Weinmueller

Hotz

Mueller

et al. 2009

International Journal of Multiphase Flow

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

“…It has been shown that liquid heat exchangers are much more effective at transferring heat to and from such devices [10], and that the performance of thermoelectric devices depends on the magnitude of this external heat transfer rate. The micro solar heater could efficiently provide heat to the hot junction of a thermoelectric generator in order to produce electricity, while the heat from the cold junction could be removed through the microchannel's flow.…”

Section: Thermoelectric Energy Generationmentioning

confidence: 99%

A micro solar heater for portable energy generation

2007

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

This study presents a new concept that combines microtechnology with solar thermal energy to provide a free portable energy source. A water-methanol mixture flows through an array of parallel microchannels which are fabricated into a silicon matrix using conventional micro-fabrication techniques. A vacuum layer is interposed between the channels and the external surface to thermally insulate the channels from the ambient temperature. A selective coating is deposited on one of the vacuum walls to absorb the short wavelength incoming radiation and reduce the long wavelength radiation, hence reducing the heat losses. A geometry and material optimization is still being developed in order to obtain the highest possible efficiency for the micro-heater, while keeping a low pressure drop in the micro-channels. The methanol outlet temperature is predicted to be higher than 250°C. This temperature is required for hydrogen production in a methanol reforming micro-reactor. Therefore, it is envisaged that the micro-solar heater will supply the thermal energy needed for hydrogen generation, that can later be used as fuel for microfuel cells. Both technologies can be integrated in a portable device.

show abstract

“…However, the performance improvement was limited. In an alternative approach, researchers integrated a microthermoelectric cooler (micro TE cooler) within the CE channel to extract the Joule heating-induced heat directly (Darabi and Ekula 2003;Rosengarten et al 2006). However, the introduction of the micro TE cooler within the CE channel significantly complicates the chip design and fabrication processes.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Improving the separation efficiency of DNA biosamples in capillary electrophoresis microchips using high-voltage pulsed DC electric fields

Lin

Wang

2008

Microfluid Nanofluid

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

This paper proposes a simple method for enhancing the separation efficiency of DNA biosamples in a capillary electrophoresis (CE) microchip by using highvoltage pulsed DC electric fields. A high-voltage amplifier is used to establish electric fields of up to 1 kHz to carry out CE separation; electrophoresis and electroosmotic effects are then pulsely induced. The experimental and numerical investigations commence by separating a mixed sample comprising two fluoresceins with virtually identical physical properties, namely Rhodamine B and Rhodamine 6G. It is found that the level of separation is approximately 2.1 times higher than that achieved using a conventional DC electric field of the same intensity. The performance of the proposed method is further evaluated by separating a DNA sample of HaeIII digested UX-174 ladder. The experimental results indicate that the separation level of the neighboring peaks 5a and 5b in the DNA marker is approximately 1.2, which is significantly higher than the value of 0.8 obtained using a CE scheme with a conventional DC electric field. The improved separation performance of the proposed pulsed DC electric field approach is attributed to a lower Joule heating effect as a result of a lower average power input and the opportunity for heat dissipation during the zero-voltage stage of the pulse cycle. Overall, the results demonstrate that the method proposed in this study provides a simple, low-cost technique for achieving a high separation performance in CE microchips.

show abstract

Integrated microthermoelectric cooler for microfluidic channels

Cited by 16 publications

References 12 publications

On two-phase flow patterns and transition criteria in aqueous methanol and CO2 mixtures in adiabatic, rectangular microchannels

On two-phase flow patterns and transition criteria in aqueous methanol and CO2 mixtures in adiabatic, rectangular microchannels

A micro solar heater for portable energy generation

Improving the separation efficiency of DNA biosamples in capillary electrophoresis microchips using high-voltage pulsed DC electric fields

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About