Microfluidics and complex fluids

Abstract

In this paper, we describe four experimental studies we carried out over the last four years in the MMN lab, regarding the dynamical behaviour of complex fluids in microfluidic systems. The topics are: (1) Polymer breakup in microfluidic systems. (2) Flows of polymer solutions in microchannels close to a smooth wall. (3) Shear banding flows in microchannels (rheology, instabilities). (4) Flows of concentrated solutions of microgel particles through microchannels. Depending on the situation, we exploit the duality low Reynolds numbers/high Weissenberg numbers (for instance, by working at high shear rates without generating turbulence), use visualization windows naturally offered by the microfluidic environment or take advantage of the integration of various functionalities on the chip. In all cases, new information, hardly accessible to non-miniaturized approaches, could be obtained by using microfluidic technology. © 2011 The Royal Society of Chemistry.