Mixing Performance of a Serpentine Micromixer with Non-Aligned Inputs

In this study, a numerical investigation on mixing and flow structure in a serpentine microchannel with non-aligned input channels was performed. The non-aligned input channels generate a vortical flow, which is formed by incoming fluid streams through tangentially aligned channels. Mixing index was evaluated to measure the degree of mixing in the micromixer. Analyses of mixing and flow field were investigated for a Reynolds number range starting from 0.1 to 120. The vortical structure of the flow was analyzed to find its effect on the mixing performance. Mixing of two working fluids in the micromixer was evaluated by using three-dimensional Navier–Stokes equations. In order to compare the mixing performance between the serpentine micromixers with and without non-aligned inputs, the geometric parameters, such as cross-section areas of the input channels and main channel, height of the channel, axial length of the channel, and number of pitches, were kept constant. Pressure drops were also calculated with fixed axial length in both cases.