Hydrodynamic drift ratchet scalability

The rectilinear "drift" of particles in a hydrodynamic drift ratchet arises from a combination of diffusive motion and particle-wall hydrodynamic interactions, and is therefore dependent on particle diffusivity, particle size, the amplitude and frequency of fluid oscillation and pore geometry. Using numerical simulations, we demonstrate that the drift velocity relative to the pore size is constant across different sized drift ratchet pores, if all the relevant non-dimensional groups (Peclet number, Strouhal number and ratio of particle to pore size) remain constant. These results clearly indicate for the first time the scaling parameters under which the drift ratchet achieves dynamic similarity, and so facilitates design, fabrication and testing of drift ratchets for experiments and eventually as commercial micro/nano fluidic separation devices.