Abstract
Particles suspended in conduit flows at small and intermediate Reynolds numbers cluster on specific focal positions while also forming particle pairs and trains due to flow-mediated interactions. The recent introduction of oscillatory inertial microfluidics has enabled the creation of virtually infinite channels, allowing the manipulation of particles at extremely low particle Reynolds numbers (Rep ≪ 1). Here, we investigate experimentally the dynamics of formation, the robustness and the stability of particle pairs, and the precision of the inter-particle distance in an oscillatory flow field, in microchannels with a rectangular cross section. Our results indicate that the cross-sectional arrangement of the particles is fundamental in determining the characteristics of the resulting particle pair.
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This work was partially supported by National Institute of Biomedical Imaging and Bioengineering BioMEMS Resource Center Grant P41 EB002503.
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This article is part of the topical collection “Particle motion in non-Newtonian microfluidics” guest edited by Xiangchun Xuan and Gaetano D’Avino.
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Dietsche, C., Mutlu, B.R., Edd, J.F. et al. Dynamic particle ordering in oscillatory inertial microfluidics. Microfluid Nanofluid 23, 83 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10404-019-2242-x
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10404-019-2242-x