@Article{C8LC01253A,
author ="Lashkaripour, Ali and Rodriguez, Christopher and Ortiz, Luis and Densmore, Douglas",
title ="Performance tuning of microfluidic flow-focusing droplet generators",
journal ="Lab on a Chip",
year ="2019",
volume ="19",
issue ="6",
pages ="1041-1053",
publisher ="The Royal Society of Chemistry",
doi ="10.1039/C8LC01253A",
url ="http://dx.doi.org/10.1039/C8LC01253A",
abstract ="The required step in all droplet-based devices is droplet formation. A droplet generator must deliver an application-specific performance that includes a prescribed droplet size and generation frequency while producing monodisperse droplets. The desired performance is usually reached through several cost- and time-inefficient design iterations. To address this{,} we take advantage of a low-cost rapid prototyping method and provide a framework that enables researchers to make informed decisions on how to change geometric parameters and flow conditions to tune the performance of a microfluidic flow-focusing droplet generator. We present the primary and secondary parameters necessary for fine-tuning droplet formation over a wide range of capillary numbers and flow rate ratios. Once the key parameters are identified{,} we demonstrate the effect of geometric parameters and flow conditions on droplet size{,} generation rate{,} polydispersity{,} and generation regime. Using this framework{,} a wide range of droplet diameters (i.e.{,} 30â400 ÎŒm) and generation rates (i.e.{,} 0.5â800 Hz) was achieved."
@Article{C8LC01253A, author ="Lashkaripour, Ali and Rodriguez, Christopher and Ortiz, Luis and Densmore, Douglas", title ="Performance tuning of microfluidic flow-focusing droplet generators", journal ="Lab on a Chip", year ="2019", volume ="19", issue ="6", pages ="1041-1053", publisher ="The Royal Society of Chemistry", doi ="10.1039/C8LC01253A", url ="http://dx.doi.org/10.1039/C8LC01253A", abstract ="The required step in all droplet-based devices is droplet formation. A droplet generator must deliver an application-specific performance that includes a prescribed droplet size and generation frequency while producing monodisperse droplets. The desired performance is usually reached through several cost- and time-inefficient design iterations. To address this{,} we take advantage of a low-cost rapid prototyping method and provide a framework that enables researchers to make informed decisions on how to change geometric parameters and flow conditions to tune the performance of a microfluidic flow-focusing droplet generator. We present the primary and secondary parameters necessary for fine-tuning droplet formation over a wide range of capillary numbers and flow rate ratios. Once the key parameters are identified{,} we demonstrate the effect of geometric parameters and flow conditions on droplet size{,} generation rate{,} polydispersity{,} and generation regime. Using this framework{,} a wide range of droplet diameters (i.e.{,} 30â400 ÎŒm) and generation rates (i.e.{,} 0.5â800 Hz) was achieved."