Pumping effect of bubble growth and collapse in microchannels: Thermo-hydraulic modeling

In the past two decades, microfluidic systems have become more appealing due to their wide applications in many areas, such as electronics, biotechnology, medicine, etc. Recently, the advantages of using the bubble growth phenomenon as a robust actuator in microfluidic devices have directed research interests towards the investigation of various applications. In this research, a new transient thermo-hydraulic model has been developed for bubble growth in confined volumes. The present model has been used to describe the pumping effect produced by the bubble growth and collapse phenomenon in microchannels. The results show relatively good agreement with experimental data. This study is useful in getting a better understanding of the bubble growth mechanism in confined volumes, and its application as a reliable micro actuator.