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Numerical Simulation of Heat and Mass Transfer Processes in a Microfluidic Fluid Flow Thermal Sensor

Authors: Ryzhkov V.V., Zverev A.V., Rodionov I.A. Published: 29.09.2017
Published in issue: #5(116)/2017  
DOI: 10.18698/0236-3933-2017-5-70-84

 
Category: Instrument Engineering, Metrology, Information-Measuring Instruments and Systems | Chapter: Instruments and Measuring Methods  
Keywords: COMSOL, microfluidics, lab-on-chip, calorimetric flow sensor, numerical simulation, fluid dynamics, CFD

The paper gives an approach to numerical simulation of heat and mass transfer processes in microfluidic thermal flow sensors (MTFS). By numerical simulation methods in the COMSOL, we investigated heat distribution from a resistive type heater located on the lower surface of a rectangular microchannel. Moreover, we identified the fluid flow rate effect on the zone of maximum divergence (ZMD) of the temperature field. Thus, it made it possible to determine the distance from the heater, at which we observed the greatest temperature difference between the higher and lower RTDs. Furthermore, to increase the sensitivity of the sensor, we suggested an innovative hybrid flow rate measurement scheme. This scheme allowed us to extend the measurement range of conventional MTFS by a factor of three

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