2009/03/03 by S. G. Ayodele, Ayodele, S. G., F. varnik +5
Computer Science · Engineering · Physics and Astronomy · #FOS: Physical sciences #Image Enhancement Techniques #Image and Signal Denoising Methods #Lattice Boltzmann Simulation Studies #Soft Condensed Matter (cond-mat.soft) #cond-mat.soft
paper · pdf · doi:10.48550/arxiv.0903.0587
19 pages, 7 figures
arxiv created 2009/03/03 · openalex publication_date 2009/03/03 · arxiv updated 2009/12/01 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/28
We study scaling laws characterizing the inter-diffusive zone between two miscible fluids flowing side by side in a Y-shape laminar micromixer using the lattice Boltzmann method. The lattice Boltzmann method solves the coupled 3D hydrodynamics and mass transfer equations and incorporates intrinsic features of 3D flows related to this problem. We observe the different power law regimes occurring at the center of the channel and close to the top/bottom wall. The extent of the inter-diffusive zone scales as square root of the axial distance at the center of the channel. At the top/bottom wall, we find an exponent 1/3 at early stages of mixing as observed in the experiments of Ismagilov and coworkers [Appl. Phys. Lett. 76, 2376 (2000)]. At a larger distance from the entrance, the scaling exponent close to the walls changes to 1/2 [J.-B. Salmon et al J. Appl. Phys. 101, 074902 (2007)]. Here, we focus on the effect of finite aspect ratio on diffusive broadening. Interestingly, we find the same scaling laws regardless of the channel's aspect ratio. However,the point at which the exponent 1/3 characterizing the broadening at the top/bottom wall reverts to the normal diffusive behavior downstream strongly depends on the aspect ratio. We propose an interpretation of this observation in terms of shear rate at the side walls. A criterion for the range of aspect ratios with non-negligible effect on diffusive broadening is also provided.