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Waves and instability in a one-dimensional microfluidic array
Journal article   Open access   Peer reviewed

Waves and instability in a one-dimensional microfluidic array

Bin Liu, J Goree and Yan Feng
Physical review. E, Statistical, nonlinear, and soft matter physics, Vol.86(4 Pt 2), pp.046309-046309
10/2012
DOI: 10.1103/PhysRevE.86.046309
PMID: 23214679
url
https://arxiv.org/pdf/1206.3507View
Open Access

Abstract

Motion in a one-dimensional (1-D) microfluidic array is simulated. Water droplets, dragged by flowing oil, are arranged in a single row. Due to their hydrodynamic interactions, the spacing between these droplets oscillates with a wave-like motion that is longitudinal or transverse. The simulation yields wave spectra that agree well with experiment. The wave-like motion has an instability which is confirmed to arise from nonlinearities in the interaction potential. The instability's growth is spatially localized. By selecting an appropriate correlation function, the interaction between the longitudinal and transverse waves is described.

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