Formation and sorting of microdroplets in immiscible liquid flows within a deterministic lateral displacement array
A.V. Kovalev1,2, A.A. Litvinova1,2, A.S. Yakimov3, A.A. Yagodnitsyna1
1Kutateladze Institute of Thermophysics, Siberian Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Novosibirsk, Russia
2Novosibirsk State University, Novosibirsk, Russia
3Siberian Federal University, Krasnoyarsk, Russia
Keywords: microchannels, deterministic lateral displacement array, DLD, two-phase flows, microdroplets
Abstract
The processes of microdroplet formation and sorting in a deterministic lateral displacement (DLD) array involving immiscible liquid flows were experimentally investigated. It is shown that as large dispersed-phase slugs move along the DLD array, daughter microdroplets detach via a mechanism resembling the tip-streaming regime. It was found that microdroplets predominantly follow streamlines and are distributed among the DLD chip's outlet channels, whereas large slugs move along displacement trajectories determined by the array geometry. The results demonstrate the potential of using DLD arrays for the simultaneous formation and sorting of microdroplets.
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