Diploma and Master Thesis
Numerical modelling of digital microfluidics
Microfluidics deal with the flow of liquids inside micrometer-sized channels. In order to consider it microfluidics, at least one dimension of the channel must be in the range of a micrometer or tens of micrometers.
Although most microfluidic devices are based on continuous flow of liquids in microchanells, there has been an increasing interest for the past couple of years in devices that rely on manipulation of discrete droplets using surface tension effects. One such technique is ElectroWetting On Dielectric (EWOD), which is based on wettability of liquids on a dielectric solid surface by varying the electrical potential.
The focus of this research will be to develop electrohydrodynamic numerical model of EWOD mechanism. First objective is to model the change in the contact angle with surface of the droplet when the electric potential is applied or turned off. The electrowetting effect in the fluid flow dynamics will then be directly introduced through the equations from electrostatics and coupled with the Navier-Stokes equations, respectively. Namely, this transition to the fluid-electro-dynamics will be the second task of the electrohydrodynamic modelling. The main and final goal is to numerically analyze different geometries and electrical properties of electrodes and droplets, which will allow for a fast actuation of the droplets.
Contact person: Assist. PhD. Urban TomcWebpage of the laboratory: https://lahde.fs.uni-lj.si/en/home/
