Particle Focusing under Newtonian and Viscoelastic Flow in a Straight Rhombic Microchannel

Particle behavior in viscoelastic fluids has attracted considerable attention in recent years. In viscoelastic fluids, as opposed to Newtonian fluids, particle focusing can be simply realized in a microchannel without any external forces or complex structures. In this study, a polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) microchannel with a rhombic cross-sectional shape was fabricated to experimentally investigate the behavior of inertial and elasto-inertial particles. Particle migration and behavior in Newtonian and non-Newtonian fluids were compared with respect to the flow rate and particle size to investigate their effect on the particle focusing position and focusing width. The PDMS rhombic microchannel was fabricated using basic microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) processes. The experimental results showed that single-line particle focusing was formed along the centerline of the microchannel in the non-Newtonian fluid, unlike the double-line particle focusing in the Newtonian fluid over a wide range of flow rates. Numerical simulation using the same flow conditions as in the experiments revealed that the particles suspended in the channel tend to drift toward the center of the channel owing to the negative net force throughout the cross-sectional area. This supports the experimental observation that the viscoelastic fluid in the rhombic microchannel significantly influences particle migration toward the channel center without any external force owing to coupling between the inertia and elasticity.