Thermocapillary valve for droplet production and sorting
Fluid Dynamics
2015-06-26 v1
Abstract
Droplets are natural candidates for use as microfluidic reactors, if active control of their formation and transport can be achieved. We show here that localized heating from a laser can block the motion of a water-oil interface, acting as a microfluidic valve for two-phase flows. A theoretical model is developed to explain the forces acting on a drop due to thermocapillary flow, predicting a scaling law which favors miniaturization. Finally, we show how the laser forcing can be applied to sorting drops, thus demonstrating how it may be integrated in complex droplet microfluidic systems.
Cite
@article{arxiv.physics/0611170,
title = {Thermocapillary valve for droplet production and sorting},
author = {C. N. Baroud and J. -P. Delville and F. Gallaire and R. Wunenburger},
journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:physics/0611170},
year = {2015}
}
Comments
Five pages, four figures