• Proceedings of the KSME Conference
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• 2004.11a
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• pp.1534-1539
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• 2004

This experiment has been carried out to measure the process of droplet formation between water phase fluid(PVA 3%) and organic phase fluid(oil) and vector fields measured by a Dynamic Micro-PIV method in the inside of a droplet while generated. Droplet length controlled by changing flow rate conditions in microchannel. Water-in-oil(W/O) droplets successfully generated at a Y junction and cross microchannel. But oil-in-water(O/W) droplets could not be formed at a Y junction microchannel. That is, PVA 3% flow could not be detached from the PDMS surface and ran parallel with oil flow. When PVA 3% flow rate was constant, droplet length and time period decreased as oil flow rate increased, but droplet frequency increased. When PVA 3% and oil flow rate ratio was constant, droplet length and time period decreased as flow rate increased, but droplet frequency increased. All that case, Standard deviation of droplet formation have less than 5% at averaged droplet length and regular-sized droplets were reproducibly formed.

• 한국가시화정보학회:학술대회논문집
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• 2004.11a
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• pp.80-83
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• 2004

This experiment has been carried out to measure the process of droplet formation between water phase fluid$(PVA\;3\%)$ and organic phase fluid(oil), Internal and External flow fields measured by a Dynamic Micro-PIV method Water-in-oil(W/O) droplets successfully generated at a cross junction and Y junction. Internal and external flow fields were measured when the droplet grew up, stretched and separated.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Visualization
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• v.5 no.2
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• pp.39-47
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• 2007

This paper describes an experimental study on the droplet formation and the subsequent motion in a microchannel having a cross junction. While one kind of liquid (pure water or water-surfactant mixture) is drawn into a horizontal inlet channel, the other kind (oil) is introduced through two vertical inlet channels. Due to the effect of surface tension on the interface between the two fluids, the droplets of the first fluid are formed near the cross junction. In this study, we have found that the droplet formation is affected even by slight difference in the surface tension. When the surface tension between two fluids is decreased, the droplet size is decreased in order to keep the equilibration between the pressure and the surface tension. In addition, the time interval between each of the droplet formations is decreased and the distance between droplets is also decreased when the surface tension is decreased.

• 한국전산유체공학회:학술대회논문집
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• 2008.03b
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• pp.2-5
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• 2008

This study describes the numerical simulation of three-dimensional droplet formation and the following motion in a cross-junction microchannel by using the Lattice Boltzmann Method (LBM). Our aim is to develop the three-dimensional binary fluids model, consisting of two sets of distribution functions to represent the total fluid density and the density difference, which introduces the repulsive interaction consistent with a free-energy function between two fluids. We validated the LBM code with the velocity profile in a 3-dimensional rectangular channel. Then, we applied our code to the numerical simulation of a binary fluid flow in a cross-junction channel focusing on the investigation of the droplet formulation. Due to the pressure and interfacial-tension effect, one component of the fluids which is injected from one inlet is cut off into many droplets periodically by the other component which is injected from the other inlets. We considered the effect of the boundary conditions for density difference (order parameter) on the wetting of the droplet to the side walls.

• Advances in aircraft and spacecraft science
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• v.1 no.4
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• pp.409-425
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• 2014

Converging flows of a gas and a liquid at a microchannel cross junction, under proper conditions, can result in the formation of periodic, dispersed microslugs. This microslug formation phenomenon has been proposed as the basis for a fuel injection system in a novel, 'discrete' monopropellant microthruster designed for use in next-generation miniaturized satellites. Previous experimental studies demonstrated the ability to generate fuel slugs with characteristics commensurate with the intended application during steady-state operation. In this work, numerical and experimental techniques are used to study the effect of valve actuation on slug characteristics, and the results are used to compare with equivalent steady-state slugs. Computational simulations of a valve with a 1 ms valve-actuation cycle show that as the ratio of the response time of the valve to the fully open time is increased, transient effects can increase slug length by up to 17%. The simulations also demonstrate that the effect of the valve is largely independent of surface tension coefficient, which is the thermophysical parameter most responsible for slug formation characteristics. Flow visualization experiments performed using a miniature valve with a 20 ms response time showed less than a 1% change in the length of slugs formed during the actuation cycle. The results of this study indicate that impulse bit and thrust calculations can discount transient effects for slower valves, but as valve technology improves transient effects may become more significant.