title: Synergetic fluid mixing from viscous fingering and alternating injection.
abstract: We study mixing of two fluids of different viscosity in a microfluidic channel or porous medium. We show that the synergetic action of alternating injection and viscous fingering leads to a dramatic increase in mixing efficiency at high Péclet numbers. Based on observations from high-resolution simulations, we develop a theoretical model of mixing efficiency that combines a hyperbolic mixing model of the channelized region ahead and a mixing-dissipation model of the pseudosteady region behind. Our macroscopic model quantitatively reproduces the evolution of the average degree of mixing along the flow direction and can be used as a design tool to optimize mixing from viscous fingering in a microfluidic channel.
authors.affiliation: Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 77 Massachusetts Avenue, Building 48, Cambridge Massachusetts 02139, USA.
authors.forename: Birendra
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Jha
authors.forename: Luis
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Cueto-Felgueroso
authors.forename: Ruben
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Juanes