Study on the Mixing Performance of Micro Optical Rotor by CFD

The mixing efficiency of an optical micro rotor designed to be used as a part of the Micro Total Analysis Systems has been studied using Computational Fluid Dynamics. It is found that the mixing efficiency due to convection by the rotor depends on the ratio of the circumferential speed of the rotor to the inlet speed of the fluids, and the efficiency due to the diffusion of the fluids depends on the ratio of the diffusion coefficient of the fluids to the inlet speed. A multiplier effect due to convection by the rotor and diffusion of the fluids on the mixing performance is observed. The results obtained in this study can be used for designing more effective optical micro rotor systems.