Article
Energy & Fuels
Zheyu Liu, Maojie Chai, Xin Chen, Seyed Hossein Hejazi, Yiqiang Li
Summary: Experimental investigation of flow regimes in a rectangular micmchannel using a water-oil system revealed four distinct flow regimes based on parameters such as viscosity ratios, velocity ratios, and capillary numbers. An exponential correlation was found between viscosity ratio and velocity ratio in transitioning flow regimes, with different effects on droplet size and slug length.
Article
Engineering, Chemical
Wen Zeng, Shun Yang, Yichao Liu, Tianhang Yang, Zhizhong Tong, Xiaobiao Shan, Hai Fu
Summary: A mathematical model describing the nonlinear relationship between droplet generation in a T-junction microdroplet generator is established, showing that the droplet length varies nonlinearly with the driving-pressure ratio under low capillary numbers. Experimental testing of the droplet length and driving-pressure ratio relationship is done for different T-junction geometries. A closed-loop control droplet microfluidic system is demonstrated to more accurately control droplet size, with the relative standard deviation of droplet size under different flow conditions being less than 2%.
CHEMICAL ENGINEERING SCIENCE
(2022)
Article
Thermodynamics
Ri Zhang, Yumiao Wang, Yong Liu, Jifu Yin
Summary: This study investigates the impact of droplet breakup and coalescence processes on droplet size distribution in annular flow. The influence of these processes is reflected in four factors: breakup-induced droplet birth, breakup-induced droplet death, coalescence-induced droplet birth, and coalescence-induced droplet death. These four effects collectively shape the probability density distribution of droplet size after reaching a dynamic equilibrium. A numerical procedure is developed to calculate the droplet size distribution and characteristic droplet sizes using microscopic mechanisms of droplet breakup and coalescence, and the predictions are validated against experimental data.
INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF HEAT AND MASS TRANSFER
(2023)
Article
Chemistry, Analytical
Nikita A. Filatov, Anatoly A. Evstrapov, Anton S. Bukatin
Summary: Droplet microfluidics is a powerful tool for various applications, with the ability to generate monodisperse droplets using flow-focusing microfluidic devices and the option to adjust negative pressure in different ways. The electro-pneumatic regulator is preferred for precise pressure control.
Article
Chemistry, Physical
Tymele Deydier, Guido Bolognesi, Goran T. Vladisavljevic
Summary: Monodispersed organic phase droplets were produced in a glass microfluidic chip. The stability of droplet generation in different regimes was found to be related to the Weber number of the dispersed phase. This study provides a new method for the production of drug microcarriers.
COLLOIDS AND SURFACES A-PHYSICOCHEMICAL AND ENGINEERING ASPECTS
(2022)
Article
Engineering, Chemical
Wei Yu, Bo Li, Xiangdong Liu, Yongping Chen
Summary: A numerical research investigated the generation of triple emulsion droplets in a three-dimensional axisymmetric flow-focusing device. The study identified three flow regimes: dripping, jetting, and threading. The effects of operation conditions, such as flow rate and interfacial tension, on droplet generation were clarified, with viscosity also playing a significant role.
CHEMICAL ENGINEERING SCIENCE
(2021)
Article
Materials Science, Multidisciplinary
Sara Alizadeh Majd, Mahdi Moghimi Zand, Reza Javidi, Mohammad Hassan Rahimian
Summary: Droplet-based microfluidics has been widely studied in biofabrication for its compatibility with 3D printers. Numerical simulations were conducted to investigate the effects of geometry on droplet generation and electric field intensity. The results showed that the necking stage of droplet formation changed to expansion with increasing capillary number, and orifice elongation reduced the induced electric field. Smaller droplets could be formed by adjusting the angle of side flow, and wedged-shaped orifice amplified the electric field. The frequency of droplet formation varied slightly with different notch angles.
Article
Chemistry, Physical
Zahra Abbasian Chaleshtari, Reza Foudazi
Summary: This research comprehensively studies the rheological properties of nanoemulsions with different structural states, including repulsive glass, attractive glass, and gel states, by adjusting the droplet volume fraction and surfactant concentration. The study provides a master curve for the storage and loss moduli of nanoemulsions, revealing a more satisfactory prediction for repulsive systems than systems with attractive interactions. The findings offer control over the physicochemical properties of nanoemulsions for the design of new food products with enhanced quality and functionality.
Article
Engineering, Chemical
Xuemei Xuan, Wenjie Lan, Xinyong Xu, Shaowei Li
Summary: This study presents a novel method that can simultaneously measure the droplet size and real-time interfacial tension in a two-phase flow system. By designing a T-shaped microdevice and integrating it with the two-phase flow equipment, the pressure variation as the droplets flowed through the microdevice was used as a probe to detect these two key parameters, eliminating the need for visualization. The method was validated using monodispersed and multidispersed droplet flows in different equipment, and it was shown that both the droplet size distribution and real-time interfacial tension can be determined.
Article
Agronomy
Lu Xun, Emilio Gil
Summary: A novel methodology was proposed to analyze water-sensitive papers (WSPs) for evaluating spray quality. The segmentation of overlapping droplets based on concave point detection and ellipse fitting achieved high accuracy. A linear relationship between droplet density and coverage was observed, and simulated WSPs were generated for high coverage estimation. This approach allows for more accurate spray quality indicators from WSP collectors.
Article
Agriculture, Multidisciplinary
Jonathan Fabula, Ajay Sharda, Joe D. Luck, Edwin Brokesh
Summary: The study found that the pulse width modulation spraying system performs well in maintaining pressure and droplet size, but there are still issues to be improved in terms of hydraulic variations and response speed.
COMPUTERS AND ELECTRONICS IN AGRICULTURE
(2021)
Article
Engineering, Electrical & Electronic
Maosen Wang, Ying Xu, Dandan Zheng
Summary: The characteristics of droplets in annular flow are crucial for the study of heat and momentum transfer between gas and liquid phases. A novel fiber optical reflectometer (FOR) technique is developed to accurately measure droplet size and velocity in horizontal annular flow. Experimentation conducted under various conditions revealed that the entrainment of liquid droplets significantly increases with higher gas and liquid flow rates. Smaller droplets tend to have higher velocities and a wider velocity distribution, while larger droplets have narrower and lower velocity distribution. The distributions of droplet size and velocity are dependent on the gas and liquid velocities.
IEEE SENSORS JOURNAL
(2023)
Article
Mechanics
Mostafa Soroor, Mohammad Zabetian Targhi, Seyed Ali Tabatabaei
Summary: In this study, a flow focusing droplet generator was designed using numerical simulation, and the numerical method was verified according to previous research. The study found that the deviation of simulations from experiments was small, which is helpful in choosing the optimal flow regime to increase droplet generation frequency and monodispersity.
EUROPEAN JOURNAL OF MECHANICS B-FLUIDS
(2021)
Article
Polymer Science
Fereshteh Moharramzadeh, Seyyed Ali Seyyed Ebrahimi, Vahid Zarghami, Zahra Lalegani, Bejan Hamawandi
Summary: Magnetic hybrid hydrogels have shown great potential in various fields, especially in biomedicine, for applications such as controlled drug delivery, tissue engineering, magnetic separation, MRI contrast agents, hyperthermia, and thermal ablation. In this study, alginate microgels containing citrated magnetic nanoparticles (MNPs) were produced using a microfluidic flow-focusing system. The size of MNPs changed from 142 nm to 826.7 nm after the attachment of citrate groups, leading to an increase in dispersion and stability. The microgels produced had diameters ranging from 20-120 μm, depending on the inlet fluid rates.
Article
Mechanics
Xiaokun Zhang, Haibin Zhang, Bofeng Bai
Summary: The analysis of interactions between micro-particles and carrier gas is crucial for studying micro-particle behavior, especially in fuel spray and spray cooling. However, optical imaging techniques have limitations that challenge existing testing methods in achieving high capturing capability and a large field of view for micro-particles simultaneously. This study proposes a technique that integrates dual-view lenses and a cGAN-ResNet joint algorithm to accurately measure micro-particles in a large field of view. The results show that the proposed method outperformed traditional methods and significantly increased the field of view.
Article
Engineering, Electrical & Electronic
Wen Zeng, Songjing Li, Hai Fu
SENSORS AND ACTUATORS A-PHYSICAL
(2018)
Article
Nanoscience & Nanotechnology
Wen Zeng, Songjing Li, Hai Fu
MICROFLUIDICS AND NANOFLUIDICS
(2018)
Article
Chemistry, Multidisciplinary
Zhenhua Tian, Chen Shen, Junfei Li, Eric Reit, Yuyang Gu, Hai Fu, Steven A. Cummer, Tony Jun Huang
ADVANCED FUNCTIONAL MATERIALS
(2019)
Article
Biochemical Research Methods
Wen Zeng, Hai Fu
Article
Chemistry, Analytical
Wen Zeng, Dong Xiang, Hai Fu
Article
Chemistry, Multidisciplinary
Yuyang Gu, Chuyi Chen, Joseph Rufo, Chen Shen, Zeyu Wang, Po-Hsun Huang, Hai Fu, Peiran Zhang, Steven A. Cummer, Zhenhua Tian, Tony Jun Huang
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Peiran Zhang, Chuyi Chen, Xingyu Su, John Mai, Yuyang Gu, Zhenhua Tian, Haodong Zhu, Zhanwei Zhong, Hai Fu, Shujie Yang, Krishnendu Chakrabarty, Tony Jun Huang
Article
Engineering, Chemical
Wen Zeng, Zhizhong Tong, Xiaobiao Shan, Hai Fu, Tianhang Yang
Summary: The relationship between droplet length and flow-rate ratio in a T-junction microdroplet generator was experimentally studied at low and high capillary numbers. It was found that there is a linear relationship at low capillary numbers, while a non-linear relationship exists at high capillary numbers. By utilizing feedback control of droplet size, a closed-loop control droplet microfluidic system was demonstrated with good agreement between predicted and measured droplet sizes across a wide range of capillary numbers.
CHEMICAL ENGINEERING SCIENCE
(2021)
Article
Engineering, Chemical
Wen Zeng, Shun Yang, Yichao Liu, Tianhang Yang, Zhizhong Tong, Xiaobiao Shan, Hai Fu
Summary: A mathematical model describing the nonlinear relationship between droplet generation in a T-junction microdroplet generator is established, showing that the droplet length varies nonlinearly with the driving-pressure ratio under low capillary numbers. Experimental testing of the droplet length and driving-pressure ratio relationship is done for different T-junction geometries. A closed-loop control droplet microfluidic system is demonstrated to more accurately control droplet size, with the relative standard deviation of droplet size under different flow conditions being less than 2%.
CHEMICAL ENGINEERING SCIENCE
(2022)
Article
Biochemical Research Methods
Peiran Zhang, Wei Wang, Hai Fu, Joseph Rich, Xingyu Su, Hunter Bachman, Jianping Xia, Jinxin Zhang, Shuaiguo Zhao, Jia Zhou, Tony Jun Huang
Article
Materials Science, Multidisciplinary
Wen Zeng, Hai Fu
JOURNAL OF MATERIALS CHEMISTRY C
(2020)
Article
Mechanics
Wen Zeng, Hai Fu
Article
Biochemical Research Methods
Hunter Bachman, Hai Fu, Po-Hsun Huang, Zhenhua Tian, Jonah Embry-Seckler, Joseph Rufo, Zhemiao Xie, Jessica H. Hartman, Shuaiguo Zhao, Shujie Yang, Joel N. Meyer, Tony Jun Huang
Article
Biochemical Research Methods
Yuyang Gu, Chuyi Chen, Zeyu Wang, Po-Hsun Huang, Hai Fu, Lin Wang, Mengxi Wu, Yuchao Chen, Tieyu Gao, Jianying Gong, Jean Kwun, Gowthami M. Arepally, Tony Jun Huang
Article
Engineering, Chemical
Andrea Coletto, Pietro Poesio
Summary: Experiments and simulations were conducted to study the air volume fraction and hold-up in a bubble channel reactor. A new signal processing method was proposed to avoid the loss of bubble residence time. The results were in agreement with previous studies and a bubble-scale model was developed to explain the relationship between hold-up and air superficial velocity.
CHEMICAL ENGINEERING RESEARCH & DESIGN
(2024)
