Numerical Analysis of Modified Micromixers with Staggered E-Shape Mixing Units

This paper presents three-dimensional modified micromixers with staggered E-shape mixing units. Numerical analysis shows that an excellent mixing performance can be achieved in three-dimensional staggered E-shape mixers (3D SEMs) based on splitting-and-recombine (SAR) and chaotic advection mechanisms. Three 3D SEMs can achieve a mixing index of over 80% in the flow regimes of 0.1≤ Reynolds number (Re) ≤ 1, which surpass traditional two-dimensional and three-dimensional E-shape mixers (3D E-mixer). When Re > 5, our work indicates that achieving a mixing index of 98% requires 1-2 fewer mixing units compared to conventional E-shape designs at the same Reynolds number. The Poincar´e mapping information and the logarithmic mean line stretching (ln`λ) have been utilized to analyze the mixing dynamical process and mixing performance without diffusion. The mapping of particles at outlets shows that there is a more uniform distribution of particles in 3D SEMs at Re=0 and 1, which means better mixing performance. When the line of tracking p articles is released from the center of the main channel of 3D SEMs-3, the linear relation between ln`λ and the number of mixing units reveals the generation of chaotic flow in proposed mixers