Work

Diffusioosmotic flow in a soft microfluidic configuration induces fluid-structure instability

Year: 2025

Type: article

Abstract: Diffusioosmotic flow, driven by solute concentration gradients, is a widely used method for fluid manipulation in microfluidic devices, often fabricated from soft materials such as PDMS. We show that such soft diffusioosmotic flow systems may exhibit fluid-structure instability. To provide insight into the underlying instability mechanism, we develop a theoretical model describing the interaction between diffusioosmotic flow and an elastic substrate. We find that above a certain concentration gradient threshold, negative pressures induced by diffusioosmotic flow cause the collapse of the elastic top substrate onto the bottom surface.

Source: Physical Review Fluids

DOI: 10.1103/3mc5-n1df

Authors: Nataly Maroundik, Dotan Ilssar, Evgeniy Boyko

Institutions: Technion – Israel Institute of Technology, ETH Zurich

Language: English

Topic: Microfluidic and Capillary Electrophoresis Applications

Subfield: Biomedical Engineering

Field: Engineering

Domain: Physical Sciences

Open Access status: green

Funder: Israel Science Foundation

Award: G195227309