Analysis and optimization of a micromixer with a modified Tesla structure

Abstract A flow-analysis method using Navier–Stokes equations has been applied to a parametric study on a micromixer with a modified Tesla structure, and an optimization of this micromixer has been performed with a weighted-average surrogate model based on the PRESS-based-averaging method. The numerical solutions are validated with the available numerical and experimental results. The mixing performance and pressure-drop have been analyzed with two dimensionless parameters, i.e., the ratio of the diffuser gap to the channel width, θ , and the ratio of the curved gap to the channel width, ϕ , for a range of Reynolds numbers from 0.05 to 40. The shape of the microchannel is optimized at the Reynolds number of 40 with two objectives: the mixing index at the exit and the friction factor. The “naive approach” has been applied to realize a single-objective optimization problem. The optimization results reveal that the mixing and pressure-drop characteristics are very sensitive to the geometric parameters. Sensitivity analysis reveals that in the vicinity of the optimum point, the objective function is more sensitive to ϕ as compared to θ .

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