Simulation of a flow control system performance in the microchannels network using external pneumatic pressure source and hydrophobic passive valves

A Lab-On-a-Chip (LOC) is a device which can integrate one or many laboratory functions on a small chip with millimeters to few square centimeters in size. These devices with small size, low use and production cost, high speed and safety have many applications in medical, chemical, environmental, biological and even radioactive tests. One of the most important parts of Lab-On-a-chip’s structure is the system of controlling flow inside the network of microchannels which needs to be highly accurate. In this research, numerical simulation on a flow control system in the network of microchannels with passive hydrophobic valves coupled with external pneumatic pressure source using FLUENT code has been performed. The major goal of this research is to propose a new geometry for sample separation which is able to move, meter and also separate two certain amounts of fluid from unknown volume of sample simultaneously.