Optimization of Y-Shaped Micro-Mixers With a Mixing Chamber for Increased Mixing Efficiency and Decreased Pressure Drop

Abstract

In this study, Y-shaped micromixers with mixing chamber design optimized as rotation and chaotic advection in the fluid domain increase with the chamber. Motivated by the advantages of Y-shaped mixers, a parametric study was performed for inlet angles (α, β), inlet channel eccentricities (x-ecc, z-ecc) and length scale ratios (L1/L2, D1/D2, and Vsp). z-eccentricity is introduced in addition to x-eccentricity to create a design that further enhances the swirl and chaotic advection inside mixing chamber for the first time. The results reveal that the maximum mixing efficiency can be achieved for Reynolds number of 81 and α, β, x-ecc, z-ecc, D1/D2, and L1/L2 values of 210°, 60°, 20 μm, 20 μm, 1.8, and 4, respectively. In addition, the proposed Y-shaped micromixer leads to a lower pressure drop (at least 50% reduction for all Reynolds numbers) in comparison to competing design. The maximum reduction in pressure drop is 72% less than the curved-straight-curved (CSC) (Re = 81) with mixing efficiency of 88% and pressure drop of 9244.4 Pa. Overall, an outstanding mixing efficiency was offered over a wide range of Reynolds numbers with distinctly low pressure drop and a compact micromixer design, which could be beneficial for a wide variety of applications where volume and pumping power are limited.