A soft microchannel decreases polydispersity of droplet generation

Abstract

We study the effect of softness of the microchannel on the process of droplet generation in two-phase flows in a T-junction microchannel. One side of the microchannel has a flexible thin PDMS layer, which vibrates naturally while droplets are generated; the deformation frequency coincides with the frequency of droplet formation. Furthermore, we compare the polydispersity of water-in-oil droplets formed with a microchannel with one soft wall with those formed in a conventional rigid microchannel. We show that deformation of the soft wall reduces the polydispersity in the droplet size.