Title: Numerical study for separation of particles in helical microchannel

Authors: U.D. Nimbalkar; Apoorv Sureshkumar Mishra; Pankaj E. Rawool; V.K. Agrawal

Addresses: Department of Mechanical Engineering, Thakur College of Engineering and Technology, Mumbai 400101, India ' Department of Mechanical Engineering, Thakur College of Engineering and Technology, Mumbai 400101, India ' Department of Mechanical Engineering, Thakur College of Engineering and Technology, Mumbai 400101, India ' Department of Automation and Robotics, Dr. D. Y. Patil institute of Technology, Pimpri, Pune, India

Abstract: The present work was aimed at studying the Dean flow pattern in the cross-section of the helical microchannel and its effect on the inertial focusing of bloodstream particles. The Dean flow, a fundamental phenomenon in fluid dynamics, illustrates fluid flow through curved geometries where centrifugal force interacts with pressure gradient. The rectangular, aspect ratio 0.8 and 0.6, and circular 80 μm diameter cross-sections of same axial pitch were analysed for Reynolds number ~ 40, Dean number ~ 9 and Ratio of lift-to-drag forces ~ 0.5. Appreciable focusing was observed as a part of numerical studies, leading to a fine stream of particles at the outlet. The results were analysed and compared with the previous studies. Hence, a rectangular cross-section helical microchannel design is proposed for particle separation that can be fabricated with any suitable polymer.

Keywords: particle separation; inertial focusing; helical microchannel; microfluidics; Dean flow.

DOI: 10.1504/PCFD.2024.140907

Progress in Computational Fluid Dynamics, An International Journal, 2024 Vol.24 No.5, pp.305 - 314

Received: 23 Nov 2023
Accepted: 16 Mar 2024
Published online: 03 Sep 2024 *

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