title: Droplet actuation in an electrified microfluidic network.
abstract: This work demonstrates that liquid droplet emulsions in a microchannel can be deformed, decelerated and/or pinned by applying a suitable electrical potential. By concentrating a potential gradient at the corners, we show that different droplets can be passively binned by size and on demand in a branched microfluidic device. The deformation, deceleration, squeezing and release of droplets in a three-dimensional numerical simulation are qualitatively verified by experiments in a PDMS microfluidic device. The forces required for pinning or binning a droplet provide a delicate balance between hydrodynamics and the electric field, and are obtained using appropriate non-dimensional parameters.
authors.affiliation: University of Central Florida, Orlando, Florida 32816, USA. Ranganathan.Kumar@ucf.edu.
authors.forename: Jonathan D
authors.initials: JD
authors.lastname: Wehking
authors.forename: Ranganathan
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Kumar
mesh_terms: D004574:Electromagnetic Fields; D004655:Emulsions / Q000737:chemistry; D056656:Lab-On-A-Chip Devices; D010316:Particle Size; D013499:Surface Properties
chemical_list: D004655:Emulsions