Control of droplet size in a two-phase microchannel using PID controller: A novel experimental study

Document Type : Research Article

Authors

1 MSc of mechanical engineering, Shahrood university of technology

2 Department of Mechanical Engineering, Shahrood University of Technology, Shahrood, Iran.

3 Shahrood University of Tech, Shahrood, Iran

4 صنعتی شاهرود-مهندسی مکانیک

5 Shahrood University of Technology

Abstract

Precise droplet generation with controllable precise size is the target of this research. For this purpose, a flow focusing micro-channel is constructed using photolithography. Two syringe pumps are used, one for injecting discrete phase flow (DI water) and another for injecting continuous phase flow (oil). The Meros high speed camera is used for recording the image of droplets, and a fast image processing algorithm is used to calculate the size of the droplets. To regulate the size of the droplet, the PID controller is used due to its ease of implementation and robustness. The flow rate of the continuous phase flow is the control input and the size of the droplets is the output of the closed-loop system. Experimental tests are done by considering three desired droplet diameters, i.e. 100, 140 and 160 . To show the disturbance rejection characteristic of the designed closed-loop system, the flow rate of the discrete phase flow is changed stepwise. Due to this disturbance, the transient response of the system changed, but the controller attenuates this disturbance and regulates the system to the desired size. The experimental tests show that the designed closed-loop microfluidic system can generate droplets with desired precise size.

Keywords

Main Subjects

References

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Amirkabir Journal of Mechanical Engineering
Volume 53, Issue 7
October 2021
Pages 4279-4292

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