Enhanced Mixing in Microflow Systems Using Magnetic Fields-Experimental and Numerical Analyses

This study presents both numerical and experimental analyses of enhanced mixing in a microflow system under the influence of a magnetic field. The research employed COMSOL Multiphysics for numerical simulations and Particle Image Velocimetry (PIV) for experimental validation. In the experimental microfluidic setup, permanent neodymium magnets were used to influence a laminar flow of water partially enriched with Ho(III) ions using the magnetic field. The findings confirmed that the strong interaction between Ho(III) ions and the magnetic field significantly affected the flow and may have resulted in vortex shedding downstream of the region with the highest magnetic field intensity. The numerical simulations demonstrated good agreement with the PIV experimental results. These findings suggest that it is possible to significantly enhance mixing in microflow systems without mechanical components, solely by exploiting the differences in the magnetic properties between the mixing substances. Traditionally, microreactors have been limited by mixing speeds governed by diffusion. These new results indicate the practical possibility of increasing mixing intensity in a cost-effective and safe manner.