Abstract
Numerical study on stirring characteristics in a microchannel with blocks arranged periodically has been performed. Viscous flows through the microchannel is simulated three-dimensionally using a commercial code, FLUENT 6.0. Focus is given to the effect on the stirring characteristics of the geometric factors including the pitch, height and angle of the block arrangement. The numerical results at low Reynolds numbers show that the particles' trajectories in the microchannel heavily depend on the block arrangement. A nonlinear dynamical tool, i.e. Lyapunov exponent, was used in analysing the mixing effect. It was found that the mixing is the most effective at a certain combination of parameter values.