Modeling, fabrication and investigation of mixing in low-cost passive PDMS micromixers

In this work, a lattice Boltzmann method (LBM) modeling and investigation of mixing in a low-cost poydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) micromixer has been discussed. The PDMS micromixers are fabricated using simple printed circuit board (PCB) mold by eliminating the need of UV-lithography and plasma chamber. Thus a low-cost methodology to fabricate a micromixer has been presented. The fabricated device is modeled using mesoscopic LBM and investigation of mixing efficiency is done. Six different passive micromixers with different obstacle pattern are fabricated and characterized using in-house developed characterization system. The result shows that the pattern having more sharp edges along with the roughness provides maximum enhancement of the mixing efficiency. The obtained results can be utilized to design an efficient micromixer for lab-on-a-chip applications.