Robust Optimisation of Microfluidic Flow Systems

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Context of Research:Current designs of the vast array of microfluidic flow systems used throughout biology, chemistry and engineering are based on processing small volumes of liquid in arrays of simple fluidic channels formed from combinations of regular channel geometries. Wider adoption of microfluidic technologies will require much more flexible and robust channel geometry optimisation methods which can deliver a step-change in functional performance whilst accounting for variations in manufacturing tolerances and operating conditions. This project will use experimental and computational methods to explore the performance of two different approaches to the optimisation of microfluidic channels for practical applications. Aims and Objectives:The aim of this project is to explore the effectiveness of shape and topology methods in providing a step change in the performance of microfluidic flow systems.Two approaches for the robust optimisation of microfluidic channels will be developed and their compared: the first using shape optimisation with a relatively small (~10) number of key design variables and the second using topology optimisation methods which provide much more geometric design freedom and the prospect of a step-change in performance. These methods will be applied to the optimisation of heat sinks for electronics cooling applications, where it is vital to mitigate hot spots whilst minimising pressure losses in the system and to microfluidic medical diagnostic devices where the use of Polymerase Chain Reactions to replicate DNA requires very precise temperature control of the liquids being manipulated. The optimised designs from each optimization will be manufactured using the School of Mechanical Engineering's 3-D metal printers and their performance validated and compared using experimental techniques.Potential applications and benefits:The methods developed in this project will be applicable to the practical design of heat sinks for electronics cooling applications and in the design of PCR systems for biological analysis. The industrial collaborators on this project provide pathways to impact and adoption of the methods developed here. The methods could be used direcetly by Iceotope Ltd design heat sinks for high density cooling applications and QuantumDx to provide greater understanding of the heat transfer mechanisms controlling the performance of their PCR-based diagnostic systems. NAG Ltd will gain knowledge of the application of their algorithms to new engineering sectors, namely those governed by heat transfer in microfluidics systems.