Experimental and Numerical Investigation on the Scaling-Up of Microsieve Dispersion Mixers

Scaling-up is a significant topic for micromixers and their industrialized applications. In this work, the scaling-up of microsieve dispersion mixers (MDMs) is systematically investigated. Two scaling-up ways, including sizing-up of the main channel or the microsieve and numbering-up of microsieves, are studied. The mixing performance is characterized by experiments as well as CFD simulation. The results show that the preference of sizing-up dimensions to optimize the micromixing performance at a low flow rate ratio (R, R = 1) is contrary to that of a high R (R = 8) for both sizing-up choices. Numbering-up of microsieves is superior to sizing-up of microsieves, and numbering up in the l1 direction is preferred. Equivalent micromixing performance can be maintained as long as the Reynolds number is kept constant during scaling-up. Two flow patterns including unrestricted and restricted flows are observed, which account for the difference in micromixing performance, and are distinguished by a dimensionless number. A mathematical model is established and used to predict the micromixing performance. Moreover, a design procedure for scaling up of MDMs is proposed.