High-viscosity fluid threads in weakly diffusive microfluidic systems

We provide an overview of the flow dynamics of highly viscous miscible liquids in microfluidic geometries. We focus on the lubricated transport of high-viscosity fluids interacting with less viscous fluids, and we review methods for producing and manipulating single and multiple core-annular flows, i.e. viscous threads, in compact and plane microgeometries. In diverging slit microchannels, a thread's buckling instabilities can be employed for generating ordered and disordered miscible microstructures, as well as for partially blending low- and high-viscosity materials. The shear-induced destabilization of a thread that flows off-center in a square microchannel is examined as a means for continuously producing miscible dispersions. We show original compound threads and viscous dendrites that are generated using three fluids, each of which has a large viscosity contrast with the others. Thread motions in zones of microchannel extensions are examined in both miscible and immiscible environments. We demonstrate that high-viscosity fluid threads in weakly diffusive microfluidic systems correspond to the viscous primary flow and can be used as a starting point for studying and understanding the destabilizing effects of interfacial tension as well as diffusion. Characteristic of lubricated transport, threads facilitate the transport of very viscous materials in small fluidic passages, while mitigating dissipation. Threads are also potentially promising for soft material synthesis and diagnostics with independent control of the thread specific surface and residence time in micro-flow reactors.