Microchannel H-Cell

Application ID: 19


This example was originally formulated by Albert Witarsa under Professor Bruce Finlayson’s supervision at the University of Washington in Seattle. It was part of a graduate course in which the assignment consisted of evaluating the potential of patents in the field of microfluidics through mathematical modeling.

The model treats an H-micro cell for separation through diffusion. The cell puts two different laminar streams in contact for a controlled period of time. The contact surface is well-defined and, by controlling the flow rate, it is possible to control the amount of species that are transported from one stream to the other through diffusion.

The model utilizes the Laminar Flow and Transport of Diluted Species interfaces to fully capture the separation within the cell.

This model example illustrates applications of this type that would nominally be built using the following products: