Executive Summary : | The transport of bubbles and droplets in microchannels is crucial for biomedical and chemical engineering applications. Understanding the flow dynamics of these droplets and their manipulation in confined microchannels is essential for high throughput and quality production. However, droplet/bubble flow dynamics have only been studied in microchannels with smooth walls. Engineered microscale textures or roughness can result in superhydrophobic surfaces, which have numerous applications. Engineered microtexturing is the primary reason for the superhydrophobic nature of a surface, rather than altering its surface chemistry. Despite advancements in micro-/nano-fabrication techniques and research on droplet microfluidics, the influence of confined wall roughness on continuous multiphase microfluidic flow dynamics has never been explored. This understanding offers control over droplet/bubble interfaces, helping in designing novel systems where droplet/bubble motion can be precisely manipulated. Potential applications of engineered texture induced wall superhydrophobicity in droplet microfluidics include self-cleaning systems and synthesis of compound droplets. This proposed fundamental research aims to visualize and analyze the flow dynamics of continuously generated microfluidic droplets/bubbles confined in T- and Y-junction microchannels containing a microtextured section. The expected results will help achieve precise control over droplet/bubble motion, leading to tunable applications, and unraveling the fundamentals behind their impacted mobility in a microfluidic assembly due to microtexture induced superhydrophobicity. |