Application of CFD-VOF Model to Autonomous Microfluidic Capillary System

마이크로 모세관 유동 해석을 위한 CFD-VOF 모텔 응용

The objective of this work is not only to perform feasibility studies on the CFD (computational fluid dynamics) analysis for the capillary system design but also to provide an enhanced understanding of the autonomous capillary flow. The capillary flow is evaluated by means of the commercial CFD software of FLUENT, which includes the VOF (volume-of-fluid) model for multiphase flow analysis. The effect of wall adhesion at fluid interfaces in contact with rigid boundaries is considered in terms of static contact angle. Feasibility studies are first performed, including mesh-resolution influence on pressure profile, which has a sudden increase at the liquid/gas interface. Then we perform both 2D and 3D simulations and examine the transient nature of the capillary flow. Analytical solutions are also derived for simple cases and compared with numerical results. Through this work, essential information on the capillary system design is brought out. Our efforts and initial success in numerical description of the microfluidic capillary flows enhance the fundamental understanding of the autonomous capillary flow and will eventually pave the road for full-scale, computer-aided design of microfluidic networks.