3D Finite Element Modelling of heat transfer in continuous flow two-phase droplet microfluidic systems using on-chip thermal control

In this work the coupled thermal and hydrodynamic processes were modelled and characterized in complex two-phase microfluidic systems to promote their applicability in further droplet based PCR or cell analytical solutions. A novel Computational Fluid Dynamics-based multi-objective optimization approach was introduced and employed to investigate the impact of geometry, materials and flow parameters and heating power on the evolving temperature distribution. The characteristics of the droplet formation and heat transfer have been studied by finite element modelling (FEM), using the Level Set and the Heat Transfer in Fluids modules for the numerical simulation in COMSOL Multiphysics. The developing temperature distribution alongside the channel has been analyzed at different volume flows and compared to the classic single-flow case to reveal the effects of discrete containers. The obtained results can support to establish the optimized microfluidic systems to set the appropriate temperatures at different regions of the channels, so the chemical reactions in the droplets – used as miniaturized reactors or cell containers – can be properly established.