Study on Flow and Stirring Characteristics in a Channel Mixer with a Periodic Array of Baffles

摘要

In this study we show an enhanced mixing effect with a simple channel having a periodic array of cross baffles. We performed numerical computation to obtain the steady flow field within the channel at low Reynolds numbers by using a commercial code, ANSYS CFX 10.0. A visualization experiment was also conducted to validate our numerical results qualitatively. In evaluating the mixing performance, we employed the Lyapunov exponent. It was shown that the visualized mixing pattern was in a good agreement with that numerically given. Our Liapunov exponent distribution in the space also demonstrates that the proposed channel design indeed exhibits a chaotic string at low Reynolds numbers. Our design is thus assumed to apply to efficient microfluidic mixing.