Droplet generation with integrated 3D pneumatic actuator for orifice control

Abstract

A droplet generator with an embedded 3D balloon actuator around a flow-focusing junction is realized to adjust the size of the droplets as required with only one element. The 3D actuator encircling the orifice causes a geometric deformation due to pneumatic pressure, which controls the orifice and thus the sizes of the droplets. The orifice and actuator are designed to have triangular cross-sections with the largest possible reduction in hydraulic diameters under the same pneumatic pressure. We empirically demonstrated that, compared with typical fixed orifice structures, droplet generators with variable orifices reduce the droplet size without changing the flow rate and can even be adjusted to a wider range of 259.3 %. The devices were fabricated by the 3D-printed soluble mold technique to achieve a fully 3D structure within a single body of polydimethylsiloxane that is unattainable by conventional standard microfabrications as well as a non-bonding structure without any leakage.