Microfluidic Droplet Generator

Description

This project uses ANSYS Fluent to simulate a microfluidic droplet generator, applying the Volume of Fluid (VOF) multiphase model to a core biomedical engineering problem. Microfluidic droplet generators are widely used in biomedical and bioengineering research to isolate biological entities and create controlled microenvironments for in-vitro analysis. The simulation models the interaction between two immiscible phases (water and oil, or their biological equivalents) as droplets form within a microchannel.

Methodology

The 3D device geometry is built in DesignModeler and meshed in ANSYS Meshing using an unstructured grid, refined locally to resolve droplet interface behavior accurately. The VOF model is configured to capture surface tension effects and wall adhesion, both critical to realistic droplet formation, with a patching approach used to improve computational efficiency. Droplet characteristics are controlled by varying inlet velocities of each phase, surface tension parameters, and channel geometry.

Conclusion

Results characterize droplet formation and breakup behavior under the given flow and geometric conditions, providing a basis for validating against experimental data. The findings translate directly to biomedical device design — informing how channel geometry and fluid properties (e.g., PBS, blood) affect droplet generation for applications such as biological entity separation and diagnostic sample analysis.