Active Mixing in a Microchannel

We investigate a minute magneto hydro-dynamic mixer with relatively rapid mixing enhancement experimentally and analytically. The mixer is fabricated with brass and polymethyl methacrylate (PMMA) layers. A secondary flow is generated by using the Lorentz force in the fluids. The efficiency of mixing is greatly improved due to the large increase of the contact area between two mixing fluids. The micro particle image velocimetry technique is employed to measure the fluid flow characteristics in the micro-channel. Numerical simulation is performed based on the theoretical model of the computational fluid dynamics and the electromagnetic field theory. The experimental results are in good agreement with the numerical results, which indicates that the mixing area is enlarged by the driving of Lorentz force and the mixing can be enhanced.