Journal of Northeastern University(Natural Science) ›› 2021, Vol. 42 ›› Issue (10): 1386-1391.DOI: 10.12068/j.issn.1005-3026.2021.10.003

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Process and Distribution of Droplet Coalescence Based on Dielectrophoresis Effect

HU Sheng, CHEN Yue-jiang, LYU Xiao-yong, WU Dong-xu   

  1. School of Control Engineering, Northeastern University at Qinhuangdao, Qinhuangdao 066004, China.
  • Revised:2020-03-01 Accepted:2020-03-01 Published:2021-10-22
  • Contact: HU Sheng
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Abstract: Based on Cahn-Hilliard, a multiphysics coupling model of Navier-Stokes two-phase fluid dynamics and electric field Maxwell stress tensor method is established,which is used for the simulation of droplet coalescence of parallel plate, pointer and ring electrodes. The research results show that the stronger electric field intensity induces a shorter time for the coalescence of the dispersed phase droplets, and the structure and uniformity of the droplet chain are greatly affected by the electrode shape and the spatial uniformity of the electric field. The uniform electric field induces the droplets to form a more uniform chain and is not affected by the number of droplets. The non-uniform electric field generated by the pointer-type and ring-type electrodes can only realize the generation of regular droplet chains under the condition of a small number of droplets. The multi-physics model and simulation results involved in this article can provide a theoretical basis for complex microfluidic electrical control such as electrospinning, droplet merging, and bubble recovery.

Key words: dielectrophoresis; electrocoalescence; droplet; Cahn-Hilliard equation; COMSOL

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