A passive planar micromixer with obstructions for mixing at low Reynolds numbers

Passive mixers rely on the channel geometry to mix fluids. However, many previously reported designs either work efficiently only at moderate to high Reynolds numbers (Re), or require a complex 3D channel geometry that is often difficult to fabricate. In this paper, we report design, simulation, fabrication and characterization of a planar passive microfluidic mixer capable of mixing at low Reynolds numbers.

The design incorporates diamond-shaped obstructions within the microchannel to break-up and recombine the flow. Simulation and experimental results of the developed micromixer show excellent mixing performance over a wide range of flow conditions (numerically: 0.01 < Re < 100, experimentally: 0.02 < Re < 10).

The micromixer is also characterized by low pressure drop, an important characteristic for integration into complex, cascading microfluidic systems. Due to the simple planar structure of the micromixer, it can be easily realized and integrated with on-chip microfluidic systems, such as micro total analysis systems (μTAS) or lab on a chip (LOC).