Uncertainty Analysis of Mixing Efficiency Variation in Passive Micromixers due to Geometric Tolerances

Abstract

The geometric layout is the key factor for enhancing the efficiency of the fluid mixing in passive micromixers. Therefore, by adjusting the geometric design and by controlling the geometric parameters, one can enhance the mixing process. However, through any fabrication process, the geometric parameters present slight, inherent variation from the designed values than might affect the performance of the micromixer. This paper proposes a numerical study on the influence of the unavoidable geometric tolerances on the mixing efficiency in passive micromixers. A probabilistic simulation model, based on the Monte Carlo method, is developed and implemented for this purpose. An uncertainty simulation model shows that significant deviations from the deterministic design can appear due to small variations in the geometric parameters values and demonstrates how a more realistic mixing performance can be estimated.

Design and Mixing Performance of Passive Micromixers: A Critical Review

“…Additionally, the geometric-parameters tolerances associated with any fabrication process slightly influence the performance of the passive micromixers. Further, in a study, the authors calculated the cumulative distribution function for three cases to obtain the probability of having mixing efficiency lower than 95% for a Tesla micromixer (Stanciu, 2015). For instance, a small change (up to 5%) in geometric parameters with six and seven elements yields respective probabilities of 11.1% and 2.08% for getting mixing performance lower than 95% (Stanciu, 2015).…”