[pt] Estudos recentes mostram que a injeção de emulsões óleo-água pode levar a uma melhor varredura do reservatório e reduzir consideravelmente a saturação residual de óleo em processos de recuperação avançada. Estes efeitos estão diretamente ligados ao comportamento do escoamento de gotas de óleos suspensas em água através das gargantas de poros. Desta forma, a otimização do processo de injeção e da formulação da emulsão com o objetivo de aumentar o volume de óleo recuperado requer por um melhor entendimento do escoamento na escala de poros. Este trabalho apresenta um estudo do escoamento de gotas de óleos suspensa em água através de micro canais de seção reta constante e através de uma garganta, que são usados como modelos do espaço poroso. O campo de velocidade da fase contínua e a velocidade da gota de óleo foi determinado através da técnica de velocimetria por imagem de partículas em escala micrométrica (Micro-PIV) para diferentes tamanhos de gotas e geometria do capilar e garganta. Os resultados obtidos mostram a variação do padrão do escoamento devido a presença da gotas de óleo e fornecem importantes informações de como gotas de óleo mudam a mobilidade do fluido injetado quando o mesmo escoa através de poros com gargantas menores do que tamanho das gotas. / [en] Recent studies show that oil-water emulsion injection may lead to a better reservoir sweep and reduce residual oil saturation in enhanced oil recovery processes. These effects are directly linked to the flow behavior of oil drops suspended in water through the pore throats of a porous material. Therefore, the optimization of the injection process and of the emulsion properties with the goal to increase the volume of oil displaced requires a better understanding of the emulsion flow in the pore scale. This work presents an analysis of the flow of oil drops suspended in water through micro channels with constant cross-section area and with a throat, that are used as a model for the pore scale. The velocity field of the continuous phase and the drop velocity are obtained using the micro particle image velocimetry techniques (Micro-PIV) for different drop sizes and micro channel geometries. The results show the changes in the flow pattern due to the presence of oil drops and yield important information on how oil drops reduce the mobility of the injected liquid when it flows through pore throats smaller than the drop size.

Dans le contexte actuel de raréfaction de l'eau, une meilleure efficacité de l'utilisation de l'eau est essentielle pour maintenir une croissance économique durable. En France, en période ordinaire, 48% d'eau est utilisé pour l'irrigation. Ce pourcentage augmente jusqu'à 79% en période d'été. Cela souligne la nécessité d'utiliser des méthodes d'irrigation performantes. La micro-irrigation offre la meilleure efficience, cependant, son utilisation n'est pas très répandue. Dans le monde, ce système ne couvre que 3% des terres irriguées et 5% en France, du fait de la sensibilité de ce système au colmatage, ce qui augmente le coût de son installation et de sa maintenance. Ce colmatage est fortement lié aux faibles sections de passage du distributeur de micro-irrigation. En effet, un labyrinthe constitué de chicanes est généralement inséré dans les distributeurs. Les chicanes existantes, qui jouent un rôle important pour générer des pertes de pression et assurent la régulation du débit sur le réseau d'irrigation, produisent des zones de recirculation où la vitesse est faible voire nulle. Ces zones de recirculation favorisent le dépôt de particules ou autre développement biochimique provoquant le colmatage du goutteur. La caractérisation de la topologie de l'écoulement dans le labyrinthe du goutteur doit être décrite pour analyser la sensibilité du goutteur au colmatage qui réduit considérablement ses performances.Des expériences utilisant la micro-PIV et un ensemencement avec des particules de 1 µm sont menées sur dix motifs répétitifs pour analyser les régions qui peuvent être sensibles au colmatage. Un goutteur fonctionne avec un débit faible, et la section transversale du labyrinthe est d'environ 1mm2. Le nombre de Reynolds varie de 400 à 800. Ainsi, cette étude expérimentale permet d'analyser le régime d'écoulement et son influence. Un algorithme de traitement est développé pour obtenir la moyenne et les fluctuations des vitesses. Une attention particulière est apportée à la validation de la technique micro-PIV et aux courbes débit-pression qui quantifient la performance globale du goutteur. Plusieurs modèles de turbulence, implémentés dans ANSYS/Fluent, sont utilisés pour modéliser l'écoulement au sein du labyrinthe. Les résultats des expériences de micro-PIV et des modélisations sont comparés afin de valider le modèle numérique. Puis, des méthodes avancées d’analyses tourbillonnaires ont été utilisées pour détecter précisément la vorticité et les zones de recirculations. L'objectif global de ce manuscrit est d'identifier le meilleur modèle qui permettra ensuite de prédire et analyser les zones sensibles au colmatage afin de les réduire grâce à l'optimisation de géométrie. / In the present context of increasing water scarcity, a better water use efficiency is essential to maintain a sustainable economical growth. Moreover, water use efficiency covers also important environmental and social issues. Micro-irrigation system has the best water efficiency, nevertheless, its use is not much widespread. In the world, this system covers only 3 % of land irrigated against 4% in France, as this system is sensitive to clogging, which increases the installation cost.The baffle-fitted labyrinth-channel is largely used in micro-irrigation systems. The existing baffles, which play an important role for generating pressure losses and ensure the flow regulation on the irrigation network, produce vorticities where the velocity is low or zero. These vorticities favor the deposition of particles or other biochemical development causing emitter clogging. Flow topology characterization in the labyrinth-channel of emitter must be described to analyze emitter clogging sensibility which drastically reduces its performance.Micro-PIV experiments, using 1µm particles, are conducted on ten-pattern repeating baffles to characterize the labyrinth-channel flow and to analyze regions which can be sensitive to clogging. An emitter works with a weak flow rate, and the labyrinth-channel cross-section is about 1 mm2 Reynolds number varies from 400 to 800. So, this experimental investigation allows analyzing the flow regime and its influence. A treatment algorithm is developed to get the mean and fluctuating velocities. Advanced swirl analysis method is adapted to precisely detect the vorticity. Particular attention is focused on the technique acquisition and on pressure losses curves accuracy in the labyrinth-channel flow since this curve represents the emitter global performance.Several turbulent models, implemented in ANSYS/Fluent, are used to perform modelling of the labyrinth-channel geometry. The micro-PIV and modeling results comparisons are presented in order to validate numerical model. The global objective of this manuscript is to identify the best model which allows to predict and analyze the sensitive areas in order to reduce them thanks to geometry optimization.

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abstract: Single cell phenotypic heterogeneity studies reveal more information about the pathogenesis process than conventional bulk methods. Furthermore, investigation of the individual cellular response mechanism during rapid environmental changes can only be achieved at single cell level. By enabling the study of cellular morphology, a single cell three-dimensional (3D) imaging system can be used to diagnose fatal diseases, such as cancer, at an early stage. One proven method, CellCT, accomplishes 3D imaging by rotating a single cell around a fixed axis. However, some existing cell rotating mechanisms require either intricate microfabrication, and some fail to provide a suitable environment for living cells. This thesis develops a microvorterx chamber that allows living cells to be rotated by hydrodynamic alone while facilitating imaging access. In this thesis work, 1) the new chamber design was developed through numerical simulation. Simulations revealed that in order to form a microvortex in the side chamber, the ratio of the chamber opening to the channel width must be smaller than one. After comparing different chamber designs, the trapezoidal side chamber was selected because it demonstrated controllable circulation and met the imaging requirements. Microvortex properties were not sensitive to the chambers with interface angles ranging from 0.32 to 0.64. A similar trend was observed when chamber heights were larger than chamber opening. 2) Micro-particle image velocimetry was used to characterize microvortices and validate simulation results. Agreement between experimentation and simulation confirmed that numerical simulation was an effective method for chamber design. 3) Finally, cell rotation experiments were performed in the trapezoidal side chamber. The experimental results demonstrated cell rotational rates ranging from 12 to 29 rpm for regular cells. With a volumetric flow rate of 0.5 µL/s, an irregular cell rotated at a mean rate of 97 ± 3 rpm. Rotational rates can be changed by altering inlet flow rates. / Dissertation/Thesis / Video of the irregular cell rotation / M.S. Bioengineering 2011

This work investigates flow measurement capabilities within meso- and micro-scaled medically relevant devices using particle image velocimetry (PIV). Medical devices can be particularly challenging to validate due to small length scales and complex geometries, which can reduce measurement accuracy by introducing noise and reducing available signal. Although the sources of such problems are often device specific, the effective outcome is a reduction in the signal-to-noise ratios (SNRs) of PIV images and correlations. This effort utilizes advanced PIV processing and post-processing techniques to establish protocols for achieving high accuracy PIV measurements in challenging flow environments. This investigation takes place within three wide-ranging medically related devices. First, channel flow in a microfluidic device is investigated to evaluate improvements in measurement accuracy gained using phase correlations in comparison to confocal microscopy. This work found substantial improvements in error with respect to the ensemble field for phase correlations while only moderate improvements were observed for confocal imaging with standard processing techniques. Secondly, an evaluation of stenting procedures was executed resulting in the first published PIV and computational fluid dynamics (CFD) joint study on bifurcating stents. This work analyzes steady flow in three bifurcation angles and four different single- and double-stenting procedures, which are clinically used in coronary bifurcations. Finally, a medical device analog was evaluated to develop a comprehensive CFD validation dataset, including a full uncertainty analysis for velocity and wall shear stress as well as estimates for pressure fields and relevant flow statistics including Reynolds stresses and dissipation. / Ph. D.

Ce travail vise à développer une approche originale à micro et à méso-échelle pour étudier divers phénomènes et intensifier les performances du réacteur. A méso-échelle, l'accent est mis sur l'efficacité de la production de biogaz dans un réacteur anaérobie 2D sous différentes conditions hydrodynamiques ainsi qu’à différentes concentrations de substrat. Puis, dans un dispositif microfluidique transparent, une seule granule de différentes tailles a été utilisée sous différentes conditions d'exploitation. Les effets des différentes conditions hydrodynamiques et des concentrations de substrat associés à la taille et la densité des granules de boues sur la production de biogaz ont été étudiés / The present work is focused on developing an original micro to mesoscale approach to investigate various phenomena and then to intensify the performance of a reactor. At mesoscale, the emphasis is given to the interactions between granular sludge particles as well as the biogas production efficiency in a 2D reactor under various hydrodynamic conditions at different concentrations of substrate. Then, within the microdevices, a single sludge particle of various sizes was used under different operating conditions such as superficial liquid velocity and concentration of substrate. The effect of different hydrodynamic conditions and concentration of substrate was studied

L'objet de ce travail de recherche est d'estimer le rôle des structures tourbillonnaires pour améliorer l'efficacité des refroidisseurs microfluidiques. Cette problématique a été étudiée en deux parties. L'objectif de la première partie est de quantifier les transferts thermiques engendrés par des tourbillons lors de leur interaction avec une paroi chaude. Ceci a été réalisé numériquement en deux étapes. La première étape a pour vocation d'améliorer la compréhension des processus de transferts thermiques d'un tourbillon transporté dans un écoulement laminaire. Deux processus majeurs ont été mis en avant : l'advection des particules froides vers la paroi chaude et le mélange par advection.Suite à ces observations, les transferts thermiques induis par une structure tourbillonnaire ont été optimisés en fonction de ses caractéristiques initiales. Cette optimisation a permis d'augmenter l'efficacité d'un système de refroidissement microfluidique de plus de 50% dans le cas d'une allée tourbillonnaire.La seconde partie couple une étude expérimentale à un modèle numérique. Cette étude se focalise sur le formation des structures tourbillonnaires à l'échelle micrométrique. Les structures tourbillonnaires sont générées par le couplage d'un micro jet synthétique à un écoulement transverse. Dans cette configuration, plusieurs topologies de structures tourbillonnaires ont été observées en fonction du nombre de Reynolds du jet et de l'écoulement. Ces différentes topologies ont été cartographiées en fonction des nombres de Reynolds du système. Finalement, pour une certaine topologie de tourbillon il a été possible de lier leurs caractéristiques aux paramètres de contrôle du système. Grâce à cette relation, il est possible de contrôler le type de structures formées par le système de refroidissement / The purpose of this research paper is to determine the role of vortical structures in the improvement of microfluidic cooling systems’ efficiency.This study is presented in two parts. The aim of the first part is to measure heat transfers produced by vortices while interacting with a hot wall. This part was carried out numerically following two steps. The aim of the first step was to improve the understanding of the processes involved during heat transfers in a vortex convected in a laminar flow. As a result, two major processes can be highlighted : the advection of cold particles to the hot wall and an advective mixing. Following these observations, heat transfers produced by a vortical structure were optimized in accordance with its initial characteristics. Consequently, the optimization of heat transfers increased microfluidic cooling systems’ efficiency by more than 50% in the case of vortex streets.The second part combines an experimental study with a numerical model. This study focuses on the creation of vortical structures on a microscopic scale. For this purpose, vortical structures are produced by combination of a synthetic micro jet with a crossflow. The outcome is that several topologies of vortical structures can be observed depending on the Reynolds number of the jet and the crossflow. These topologies can be mapped according to the Reynolds numbers of the system. As a result, a connection can be made between characteristics of some topologies of vortices and control parameters of the system. As a conclusion, the type of structures produced by the cooling system can be controlled

Droplet microfluidics is a promising field since it overcomes many of the limitations of single phase microfluidic systems. The improved mixing time scale, the increase of number of samples and the isolation of droplets are some of its virtues. The core of droplet microfluidics is a two-phase flow condition that is subjected to scaling of the confining geometry. With the scaling the complexities of the flow phenomena arise. For that reason both the processes of droplet generation and transport are not fully understood for various flow and fluid conditions. The work in this thesis aims to experimentally examine droplet generation and transport in microchannels for flow and fluid conditions that are experimentally challenging to perform. Examination of droplet generation in a T-junction microchannel design was performed with a quantitative velocity field approach known as micro particle image velocimetry (μPIV). The studies on droplet generation focused on very fast generation regimes, namely transition and dripping that have not been studied for a T-junction design. This achievement was accomplished because of the development of a fast optical detection and triggering system that allowed for acquiring images of different identical droplets at the same position. μPIV results indicate that the quantitative velocity field patterns of different regimes share some similarities. The filling stage in the transition and dripping regimes had some resemblance in their velocity patterns. The velocity patterns for the start of droplet pinch-off were alike for the squeezing and transition regimes. Furthermore, the presence of a surfactant in the droplet phase above the critical micelle concentration (CMC) did not have an effect on the general velocity patterns as long as the capillary number Ca was matched with the no-surfactant condition. The studies of hydrodynamic properties of droplet transport were performed in hard materials to avoid cumulative error sources, such as material pressure compliance and swelling effects. The project had several parts: designing a microchannel network that allowed studying the hydrodynamic properties of small droplets, surface treatments of the channel material for stable droplet generation and examining the hydrodynamics of small liquid droplets with sizes that have not been reported in the literature. The studies examined effects of changing the interfacial tension, viscosity, and flow conditions on the transport of droplets. The experimental results from the hydrodynamic transport studies indicated that for the droplet sizes that were examined the pressure drop of droplets was affected by the capillary number Ca and length of the droplet Ld. Also, the presence of surfactants altered the hydrodynamic properties of droplets. At a high concentration of surfactants the droplets pressure drop was reduced significantly. Moreover, the type of surfactant affected the magnitude of the pressure drop. Experimental results indicate that if the concentration of surfactants was very low (below CMC) it did not have an effect on the droplet excess pressure. These findings are important to consider in designing droplet microfluidic systems with complex channel networks that involve droplet sorting, splitting, and merging for droplets that contain surfactants.

Red blood cells (RBCs) are the most abundant cells in human blood, representing 40 to 45% of the blood volume (hematocrit). These cells have the particular ability to deform and bridge together to form aggregates under very low shear rates. The theory and mechanics behind aggregation are, however, not yet completely understood. The purpose of this work is to provide a novel method to analyze, understand and mimic blood behaviour in microcirculation. The main objective is to develop a methodology to quantify and characterize RBC aggregates and hence enhance the current understanding of the non-Newtonian behaviour of blood at the microscale. For this purpose, suspensions of porcine blood and human blood are tested in vitro in a Poly-di-methylsiloxane (PDMS) microchannel to characterize RBC aggregates within these two types of blood. These microchannels are fabricated using standard photolithography methods. Experiments are performed using a micro Particle Image Velocimetry ( PIV) system for shear rate measurements coupled with a high speed camera for the flow visualization. Corresponding numerical simulations are conducted using a research Computational Fluid Dynamic (CFD) solver, Nek5000, based on the spectral element method solution to the incompressible non-Newtonian Navier-Stokes equations. RBC aggregate sizes are quantified in controlled and measurable shear rate environments for 5, 10 and 15% hematocrit. Aggregate sizes are determined using image processing techniques. Velocity fields of the blood flow are measured experimentally and compared to numerical simulations using simple non-Newtonian models (Power law and Carreau models). This work establishes for the first time a relationship between RBC aggregate sizes and corresponding shear rates in a microfluidic environment as well as one between RBC aggregate sizes and apparent blood viscosity at body temperature in a microfluidic controlled environment. The results of the investigation can be used to help develop new numerical models for non-Newtonian blood flow, provide a better understanding of the mechanics of RBC aggregation and help determine aggregate behaviour in clinical settings such as for degenerative diseases like diabetes and heart disease.

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