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Projekt
Dynamics of capillary surfaces at the nano and meso scale and their impact on dispensing devices: development of a free surface dissipative particle dynamics method
Antragsteller
Dr. Mark Santer
Fachliche Zuordnung
Physik der kondensierten Materie
Förderung
Förderung von 2004 bis 2009
Projektkennung
Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Projektnummer 5425635
At present, in integrated microfluidic and lab-on-chip devices, capillarity plays a vital role for efficient passive liquid handling of simple and complex fluids. On the microscale, the design of components like passive valves, breaks or dosage units can entirely rely on a classical description of capillary effects, whereas this is not necessarily the case for components on a mesoscopic scale. Fluctuations on flow and capillary interfaces as well as the impact of brownian motion of macromolecules on flow are likely to become important. Existing simulation schemes can each provide only partial insight into the interplay of these phenomena. To arrive at a complete description, we employ the method of Dissipative Particle Dynamics (DPD), capable of describing hydrodynamical flow together with thermal fluctuations and their impact on complex supended objects. The DPD scheme will first be enhanced to include nonequilibrium dynamics of free capillary surfaces. Second, the modified DPD will be calibrated by low level molecular dynamics simulations and systematic experiments on capillary flow behaviour of simple fluids in sub-micron channels. After this, the scheme can be applied to explore the potential use of capillarity driven flows in handling even single macromolecules.
DFG-Verfahren
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