Numerical study of a three‐dimensional electroosmotic micromixer with Koch fractal curve structure

Abstract

Abstract BACKGROUND A new type of three‐dimensional electroosmotic micromixer is designed based on the Koch fractal curve principle. According to the fractal principle, the influences of fractal structure, voltage size, electrode spacing and electrode configuration on the mixing performance were proposed and studied. RESULTS The simulation results show that under the combined action of fractal and electric field, irregular alternating vortices are generated in the microchannel, which can disturb the flow of fluid and greatly improve the mixing of fluids in the electroosmotic micromixer. In particular, when the direct current voltage is 10 V, the electrode spacing is 0.15 mm and the electroosmotic micromixer has three groups of alternately placed electrode pairs, the mixing efficiency can reach 98%. CONCLUSIONS This new type of electroosmotic micromixer is suitable for many occasions, including the mixing of biochemical reagents, and has high application value. © 2021 Society of Chemical Industry (SCI).