Passive Spiral Micro-Mixer With Baffles For Phase Separation
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Existing micro-mixers with spiral channels suffer from reduced mixing efficiency due to centrifugal force causing separation of light and heavy phases, leading to suboptimal mixing performance.
Innovation Solution
A passive spiral micro-mixer with built-in baffles and adjustable inlet angles, featuring a spiral mixing channel connected to inlet fluid reservoirs and a buffer reservoir, enhances mixing by convective mixing and secondary flow, using hydrophobic materials like polydimethylsiloxane or polymethyl methacrylate.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Power
If a spiral mixing channel is used to create centrifugal force for mixing, then mixing intensity is improved, but phase separation occurs due to centrifugal force causing reduced mixing efficiency
Solution Approach 1:
The spiral mixing channel is segmented into multiple sections with varying geometric parameters (inner radius, outer radius, channel width, channel depth) to create multiple vortex regions. This segmentation allows different parts of the fluid to experience different centrifugal forces, preventing phase separation while maintaining mixing intensity.
Solution Approach 2:
The channel geometry is optimized with local variations in radius and depth along the spiral path. The inner radius and outer radius are specifically designed to create optimal vortex flow patterns at different locations, ensuring that centrifugal force enhances mixing rather than causing separation.
2Loss of time
If complex sequential or parallel flow path systems are designed to improve mixing efficiency, then mixing time and space are reduced, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
A single spiral curved channel is used instead of complex sequential or parallel straight channels. The continuous curved geometry naturally creates vortex flow and multiple mixing zones along the spiral path, achieving efficient mixing in a compact structure without requiring complex multi-section designs.
Solution Approach 2:
Multiple mixing functions are merged into a single spiral channel structure. The channel simultaneously creates vortex flow, provides multiple contact zones between fluids, and achieves thorough mixing in one continuous path, eliminating the need for separate mixing sections.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
The micro-mixer significantly improves mixing efficiency by minimizing phase separation and optimizing mixing performance, particularly for rapid reactions and nano-particle synthesis, with better results in hydrophobic materials compared to hydrophilic ones.
Implementation Method 1
the influence of surface force and viscous force is dominant while inertia force is weakened since the ratio of surface area to volume increases rapidly
Implementation Method 2
they rely mostly on diffusion or chaotic advection using particular channel geometry that creates vortex flow
Implementation Method 3
they rely mostly on diffusion or chaotic advection using particular channel geometry that creates vortex flow
Implementation Method 4
using hydrophobic materials like polydimethylsiloxane or polymethyl methacrylate
Data Source
AI summary
A micro-mixer and use thereof for synthesis of barium sulfate particles is disclosed. The micro-mixer includes feeding tubes, reservoirs, a mixing channel, a buffer reservoir and a sampling tube. The mixing channel is made of hydrophobic materials and processed into a spiral structure, in which baffles are set in interval arrangement at both sides of the channel wall. The types of the baffles include leaning-forward baffles, vertical baffles and leaning-backward baffles. Setting the baffles helps produce local secondary flow in the mixer, which enhances fluids mixing process. The micro-mixer is suitable to rapid reactions or precipitation processes, whose reaction time is much less than mixing time, and has broad application prospects in many fields involving mixing reaction such as pharmaceutical and chemistry industry.