Presentation Information
[10a-N305-10]Development of a High-Efficiency Twisted Microfluidic Mixer Fabricated via Thermal Drawn Process
〇Shunsuke Kato1, Dannesia Zan2, To-En Hsu3, Ricardo Arturo Lopez de la Curz4, Amy Q Shen4, Yuanyuan Guo1 (1.FRIS, 2.Georgia Tech, 3.Chang Gung Univ, 4.OIST)
Keywords:
microfluidic device,micromixer,fiber
In microfluidic engineering, enhancing mixing in laminar flows—which is typically hindered by slow molecular diffusion—is achieved by promoting chaotic advection through structures such as spiral channels. While three-dimensional (3D) micromixers have garnered attention for their potential to improve mixing efficiency, challenges persist regarding their fabrication complexity and integration into existing systems. To address these issues, we developed a compact and cost-effective "twisted" micromixer utilizing a thermal drawing process. This method enables the creation of microchannels with helical structures that induce secondary swirling flows, thereby enhancing mixing performance. Numerical simulations have confirmed the generation of these swirling flows within the twisted channels. Experimental results further validate the efficacy of this design, demonstrating significant improvement in mixing efficiency.