Experimental Investigations on the Effects of Channel Aspect Ratio and Surface Wettability to Control the Surface-Driven Capillary Flow of Water in Straight PMMA Microchannels

Abstract

Abstract

Total 214 individual straight polymethylmethacrylate (PMMA) microchannels have been fabricated by the maskless lithography, hot embossing lithography, direct bonding technique, and atmospheric pressure air dielectric barrier discharge (DBD) plasma processing. The experimental investigations on the effects of structural properties (channel aspect ratios) and physical properties (surface wettability, capillary pressure and kinetic energy) on the surface-driven capillary flow of dyed water in straight PMMA microchannels is a novel approach in this research paper. Below a certain channel aspect ratio, the effect of kinetic energy is more dominant than the effect of channel aspect ratio. The surface-driven capillary flow of dyed water is faster on the surface of higher wettability corresponding to lower static water contact angle. The determined diffusion coefficient is higher in the faster surface-driven capillary flow of dyed water according to the comparison between experimental results and analytical solutions. These experimental investigations are highly useful in bioengineering applications to control the working liquid inside the microfluidic lab-on-a-chip systems for the tuned operation time.

Keywords: Lithography, surface tension, wetting, carbon, water, PMMA, microchannel, channel aspect ratio

Cite this Article

Subhadeep Mukhopadhyay. Experimental Investigations on the Effects of Channel Aspect Ratio and Surface Wettability to Control the Surface-Driven Capillary Flow of Water in Straight PMMA Microchannels. Trends in Opto-Electro & Optical Communications. 2016; 6(3): 1–12p.