Related Experiment Video
Updated: Dec 21, 2025
10:12
Analyzing Mixing Inhomogeneity in a Microfluidic Device by Microscale Schlieren Technique
Published on: June 12, 2015
9.4K
Liquid-liquid-liquid three-phase microsystem: hybrid slug flow-laminar flow.
1Institute of Nuclear and New Energy Technology, Tsinghua University, Beijing, 100084, P. R. China. c-xu@mail.tsinghua.edu.cn.
Lab on a Chip
|May 16, 2020
Summary
Researchers developed a novel three-phase microfluidic system using a hybrid slug flow-laminar flow microchip. This system enables stable control of multiple liquid interfaces for advanced applications like simultaneous extraction and stripping.
Area of Science:
- Microfluidics
- Chemical Engineering
- Interface Science
Background:
- Liquid-liquid-liquid three-phase microfluidics offers complex flow patterns beyond two-phase systems.
- Stable interface manipulation is crucial but challenging for three-phase microfluidic applications.
Purpose of the Study:
- To develop a novel liquid-liquid-liquid three-phase microsystem.
- To demonstrate its capability for simultaneous extraction and stripping.
Main Methods:
- Design of a hybrid slug flow-laminar flow microchip.
- Co-current flow of two aqueous phases separated by an organic phase.
- Analysis of flow patterns, flow rates, and interfacial tension effects.
Main Results:
- The microchip successfully creates and maintains stable continuous and segregated oil-water interfaces.
- Demonstration of simultaneous extraction and stripping capabilities.
- Detailed discussion of design guidelines and flow behavior.
Conclusions:
- The hybrid microchip integrates benefits of slug and laminar flow for three-phase microfluidics.
- This system shows significant potential for sample purification, analysis, synthesis, and micro-reactions.
Related Concept Videos
01:17Steady, Laminar Flow Between Parallel Plates
692
Understanding steady, laminar flow between parallel plates is essential for analyzing and designing flow in narrow rectangular channels, commonly found in various water conveyance and drainage systems. The Navier-Stokes equations govern fluid motion and are generally challenging to solve due to their nonlinearity. However, simplifications are possible in certain cases, like the steady laminar flow between parallel plates. For this scenario, we assume steady, incompressible, laminar flow.
692
01:07Laminar and Turbulent Flow
10.3K
Fluid dynamics is the study of fluids in motion. Velocity vectors are often used to illustrate fluid motion in applications like meteorology. For example, wind—the fluid motion of air in the atmosphere—can be represented by vectors indicating the speed and direction of the wind at any given point on a map. Another method for representing fluid motion is a streamline. A streamline represents the path of a small volume of fluid as it flows. When the flow pattern changes with time, the...
10.3K
01:23Steady, Laminar Flow in Circular Tubes
850
Hagen-Poiseuille flow describes a viscous fluid's steady, incompressible flow through a cylindrical tube with a constant radius R. This flow profile is often applied to understand fluid transport in narrow channels, such as capillaries. It serves as a foundational example of laminar flow. In this model, cylindrical coordinates (r,θ,z) are used to describe the radial (r), angular (θ), and axial (z) dimensions within the tube. For Hagen-Poiseuille flow, the velocity profile is purely axial,...
850
01:27Laminar Flow
2.0K
Laminar flow represents a smooth, orderly fluid motion where particles move along parallel paths, resulting in minimal mixing between layers. Streamlined particle paths characterize this flow regime and occur under conditions where viscous forces dominate over inertial forces. The distinction between laminar, transitional, and turbulent flow is primarily determined by the Reynolds number, a dimensionless quantity calculated as:
2.0K