Numerical modeling of electrowetting processes in digital microfluidic devices

We use a three-dimensional multiphase lattice-Boltzmann model to study basic operations such as transport, merging and splitting of nanoliter water droplets actuated by electrowetting in digital microfluidic devices. In a first step, numerical and analytical predictions for the droplet transport velocity are compared and very good agreement is obtained for a wide range of contact angles. The same algorithm is employed then to study the dynamics of the splitting processes at different contact angles and different geometries of the cell. The configuration of the liquid droplet involved in a splitting process and the dependence of the splitting time on the transport velocity are also investigated and phenomenological laws describing these processes are also proposed. Crown Copyright (C) 2010 Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.