Journal
PHYSICAL REVIEW E
Volume 105, Issue 2, Pages -Publisher
AMER PHYSICAL SOC
DOI: 10.1103/PhysRevE.105.025106
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This study investigates the dynamics of droplet formation using red blood cell solutions in a T-junction microfluidic system, presenting a model to predict the droplet volume. Experimental validation shows that the model can aid in the design of microfluidic systems.
This work represents the second part of a two-part series on the dynamics of droplet formation in a T-junction generator under the squeezing regime when using solutions of red blood cells as the dispersed phase. Solutions containing red blood cells are non-Newtonian; however, these solutions do not behave in the same way as other non-Newtonian fluids currently described in the literature. Hence, available models do not capture nor predict important features useful for the design of T-junction microfluidic systems, including droplet volume. The formation of a red blood cell-containing droplet consists of three stages: a lag stage, a filling stage, and a necking stage, with the lag stage only observed in narrow dispersed phase channel setups. Unlike other shear-thinning fluids, thread elongation into the main channel at the end of the necking stage is not observed for red blood cell solutions. In this work, a model that predicts the final droplet volume of a red blood cell containing droplets in T-junction generators is presented. The model combines a detailed analysis of the geometrical shape of the droplet during the formation process, with force and Laplace pressure balances to obtain the penetration depth (b(fill)*) and the critical neck thickness (2r(pinch)*) of the droplet. The performance of the model was validated by comparing the operational parameters (droplet volume, the spacing between the droplet, and the generation frequency) with the experimental data across a range of the dimensionless parameters (flow rate ratios, continuous phase viscosities, and channel geometries).
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