A 1D model of liquid laminar flows with large Reynolds numbers in tapered microchannels

TL;DR

This paper develops a novel 1D model for laminar liquid flows in tapered microchannels, accounting for inertance and dynamic pressure, and explores flow behavior in asymmetric Y-shaped junctions under various pressure conditions.

Contribution

The paper introduces a new 1D model for microfluidic laminar flows in tapered channels that includes inertance and dynamic pressure effects, applicable across different flow regimes.

Findings

Meniscus arrest time decreases with increased external pressure.

Meniscus arrest disappears at sufficiently high external pressure.

Flow resistance differences prevent arrest when channel radius ratio is large.

Abstract

In this article, we construct a novel 1D-model of microfluidic laminar flows in tapered circular and rectangular channels assuming the flow in channels fully developed. In the model, we take into account the inertance and dynamic pressure terms. The model can be used for a wide range of flows: from the pure capillary flow regime, where the capillary forces are the main driver of the liquid in the channel, to the external pressure flow regime where the external pressure applied to the liquid at the entrance to the channel is much larger than the capillary pressure in the channel, so that the capillary force can be ignored. We apply the model to rectangular Y-shape junctions, where the base channel is connected to a reservoir and the end channels are exposed to atmospheric air. We show that, in asymmetric Y-shape junctions, there can be a time of meniscus arrest, where only one of the two channels with a smaller radius fills, and, the other one, with a larger radius, is arrested. The time of meniscus arrest decreases with an increase in the applied external pressure; when this pressure becomes large enough, the meniscus arrest disappears. However, if the ratio of the radii of the end channels is large, the meniscus arrest does not appear because the flow resistance in the channel with the smaller radius is much large than in the channel with the larger radius so that the initial flow in the wider channel cannot be stopped by the differences in the surface tension pressures in these channels. In this article, we also investigate the applicability of the fully developed flow approximation assumed in the model.