Numerical Study of Drop Formation in Y-Junction Microchannel with Different Junction Angles

Motion of drops in microchannels is encountered in a wide range of applications, such as encapsulation, DNA analysis, and drug delivery. In this study, the formation of drops in a Y-junction microchannel is numerically investigated. To this approach, the Ansys Fluent software is used. To verify the simulation, results are compared to the previous experimental data. The comparison depicts that the current simulation has a deviation of less than 10% with previous experimental results. Effect of change in the flow rate ratio (0.6≤Q≤25.2) on the flow pattern, size of drops, the distance between them, and the breakup time are studied for the four junction angles of the microchannel (45, 90, 135 and 180 °) in details. Three flow regimes are observed: parallel, squeezing and dripping flow. Results reveal that the junction angle of 135° is the optimum angle for the formation of the smallest drops in the microchannel. It is also observed that, at the optimum angle, increasing the flow rate ratio from 0.6 to 25.2 decreases the size and time of drop formation by factors of 3.83 and 3.33, respectively. However, it has an adverse effect on the distance between the drops which results in 4.33 time larger distance between formed drops.