Stretch effects of vortex tubes in vorticity fields for passive microdevice design

Resumo

As far as microfluidics applications is concerned, either in the development of new products and processes or in the replacement of conventional procedures, the thorough comprehension of the physical phenomena which rule the flow of fluid inside micro-devices is of paramount importance. One of the main limitations is the time scale of mixture between fluids that is mainly governed by molecular diffusion. Computational fluid modelling arises as an interesting tool for both evaluation of the mixing index and optimisation of the micro-device geometry. The present work addresses the numerical modelling and investigation of flow in capillary scale for the development of micro-devices with emphasis in the process of formation of localised vorticity fields.