Effect of high frequency ultrasound on micromixing efficiency in microchannels

In the present work, an investigation on the effect of high frequency ultrasound wave on micromixing in the studied microchannels was carried out. Three types of microchannels with different shapes are examined. A 1.7 MHz piezoelectric transducer (PZT) was employed to induce the vibration in these microchannels through an indirect contact. A method based on the Villermaux–Dushman reaction was employed to study the micromixing in these microchannels. The segregation intensity was determined for layouts with and in the absence of ultrasound irradiation. Further, the effect of ultrasound waves, in various flow rates and initial concentrations of acid, on the segregation index (XS) and micromixing time (tm) was investigated. The experimental results showed that the ultrasound waves have a significant influence on product distribution and segregation index at various flow rate ratios. The data obtained in all cases showed that the segregation index was reduced when the flow rate ratios were increased. Also the results demonstrate that in spite of a low energy consumption of PZT, the relative segregation index improved up to 18–36% at various flow rate ratios.