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Updated: Jul 24, 2025
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Fabricating High-viscosity Droplets using Microfluidic Capillary Device with Phase-inversion Co-flow Structure
Published on: April 17, 2018
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Controlled viscous fingering in volatile fluid towards spontaneous evolution of ordered 3D patterns
Makrand A Rakshe1, Prasanna S Gandhi2
1Suman Mashruwala Advanced Microengineering Laboratory, Department of Mechanical Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology Bombay, Powai, Mumbai, 400076, India.
Scientific Reports
|June 30, 2023
Summary
This study introduces a novel, scalable method for creating 3D honeycomb structures using viscous fingering instability. This lithography-free process mimics nature and offers potential for advanced manufacturing.
Area of Science:
- Materials Science
- Fluid Dynamics
- Nanotechnology
Background:
- Mimicking natural structures with artificial technologies is a long-standing scientific goal.
- Fabrication of complex 3D patterns often requires intricate and costly methods like lithography.
Purpose of the Study:
- To characterize a spontaneous, scalable, and lithography-less process for fabricating 3D patterns.
- To investigate viscous fingering instability for creating nature-inspired honeycomb structures with high-aspect-ratio walls.
Main Methods:
- Utilizing a uniport lifted Hele-Shaw cell (ULHSC) to study volatile polymer solution evolution.
- Developing a non-dimensional phase plot to map different interface evolution phenomena.
- Proposing a new non-dimensional ratio for analyzing static interface evaporation versus lifting velocity.
Main Results:
- Identification of distinct phenomena: 'No retention', 'Bridge breaking', and 'Wall formation'.
- Demarcation of stable and unstable interface evolution regions on a phase plot spanning five orders of magnitude.
- Demonstration of the process's scalability and potential for multiwell structures using multiport LHSC (MLHSC).
Conclusions:
- The study establishes a foundational understanding for scalable manufacturing of 3D patterns.
- The developed method offers a cost-effective and efficient alternative to traditional fabrication techniques.
- Insights gained pave the way for applications in biomedical and other advanced domains.
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