Particle behavior in viscoelastic fluids has attracted considerable attention in recent years. In viscoelastic fluids, as opposed to Newtonian fluids, particle focusing can be simply realized in a microchannel without any external forces or complex structures. In this study, a polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) microchannel with a rhombic cross-sectional shape was fabricated to experimentally investigate the behavior of inertial and elasto-inertial particles. Particle migration and behavior in Newtonian and non-Newtonian fluids were compared with respect to the flow rate and particle size to investigate their effect on the particle focusing position and focusing width. The PDMS rhombic microchannel was fabricated using basic microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) processes. The experimental results showed that single-line particle focusing was formed along the centerline of the microchannel in the non-Newtonian fluid, unlike the double-line particle focusing in the Newtonian fluid over a wide range of flow rates. Numerical simulation using the same flow conditions as in the experiments revealed that the particles suspended in the channel tend to drift toward the center of the channel owing to the negative net force throughout the cross-sectional area. This supports the experimental observation that the viscoelastic fluid in the rhombic microchannel significantly influences particle migration toward the channel center without any external force owing to coupling between the inertia and elasticity.

This study experimentally investigates the wake structure of a porous square cylinder in terms of permeability over two decades of $Da$ (i.e. $2.4 \times 10^{-5} < Da < 2.9 \times 10^{-3}$ ). The porous cylinder, featuring a simple cubic lattice structure, was fabricated using an additive manufacturing technique. This unique method, combined with a periodic and scalable lattice structure, effectively isolates permeability from porosity, making it suitable for an in-depth parametric study. The key parameter, permeability, was directly estimated by measuring the pressure drop and superficial velocity for each porous case in an open-loop pipe flow system. The downstream flow fields were obtained using standard planar particle image velocimetry measurements in an open-loop wind tunnel. Based on the experimental data, structural modifications in the near wake were examined in relation to permeability, leading to the identification of four distinct flow regimes depending on $Da$ . Additionally, the downstream flow adjustment length ( $L_i$ ) was assessed by introducing a permeability-based source term into the momentum equation, facilitating the development of an analytical model for $L_i$ . The present experimental data support this analytical model, and our results further confirmed that $L_i$ plays a crucial role as a characteristic length scale in the near wake.

In this study, we investigated the particle separation phenomenon in a microchannel with a T-shaped cross-section, a unique design detailed in our previous study. Utilizing a co-flow system within this T-shaped microchannel, we examined two types of flow configuration: one where a Newtonian fluid served as the inner fluid and a viscoelastic fluid as the outer fluid (Newtonian/viscoelastic), and another where both the inner and outer fluids were Newtonian fluids (Newtonian/Newtonian). We introduced a mixture of three differently sized particles into the microchannel through the outer fluid and observed that the co-flow of Newtonian/viscoelastic fluids effectively separated particles based on their size compared with Newtonian/Newtonian fluids. In this context, we evaluated and compared the particle separation efficiency, recovery rate, and enrichment factor across both co-flow configurations. The Newtonian/viscoelastic co-flow system demonstrated a superior efficiency and recovery ratio when compared with the Newtonian/Newtonian system. Additionally, we assessed the influence of the flow rate ratio between the inner and outer fluids on particle separation within each co-flow system. Our results indicated that increasing the flow rate ratio enhanced the separation efficiency, particularly in the Newtonian/viscoelastic co-flow configuration. Consequently, this study substantiates the potential of utilizing a Newtonian/viscoelastic co-flow system in a T-shaped straight microchannel for the simultaneous separation of three differently sized particles.

Recently, studies on particle behavior under Newtonian and non-Newtonian fluids in microchannel have attracted considerable attention because particles and cells of interest can be manipulated and separated from biological samples without any external force. In this paper, two kinds of microchannels with non-rectangular cross-section were fabricated using basic MEMS processes (photolithography, reactive ion etching and anisotropy wet etching), plasma bonding and self-alignment between two PDMS structures. They were used to achieve the experiments for inertial and elasto-inertial particle focusing under Newtonian and non-Newtonian fluids. The particle behavior was compared and investigated for different flow rates and particle size in the microchannel with rhombic and equilateral hexagonal cross section. We also investigated the influence of Newtonian fluid and viscoelastic fluid on particle migration in both microchannels through the numerical simulation. The experimental results showed the multi-line particle focusing in Newtonian fluid over a wide range of flow rates, but the single-line particle focusing was formed in the centerline under non-Newtonian fluid. The tighter particle focusing appeared under non-Newtonian fluid in the microchannel with equilateral hexagonal cross-section than in the microchannel with rhombic cross section because of the effect of an obtuse angle. It revealed that particles suspended in the channel are likely to drift toward a channel center due to a negative net elasto-inertial force throughout the cross-sectional area. Simulation results support the present experimental observation that the viscoelastic fluid in the microchannel with rhombic and equilateral hexagonal cross-section significantly influences on the particle migration toward the channel center owing to coupled effect of inertia and elasticity.

Recently, particle manipulation in non-Newtonian fluids has attracted increasing attention because of a good particle focusing toward the mid-plane of a channel. In this research, we proposed a simple and robust fabrication method to make a microchannel with various T-shaped cross-sections for particle focusing and separation in a viscoelastic solution. SU-8-based soft lithography was used to form three different types of microchannels with T-shaped cross-sections, which enabled self-alignment and plasma bonding between two PDMS molds. The effects of the flow rate and geometric shape of the cross-sections on particle focusing were evaluated in straight microchannels with T-shaped cross-sections. Moreover, by taking images from the top and side part of the channels, it was possible to confirm the position of the particles three-dimensionally. The effects of the corner angle of the channel and the aspect ratio of the height to width of the T shape on the elasto-inertial focusing phenomenon were evaluated and compared with each other using numerical simulation. Simulation results for the particle focusing agreed well with the experimental results both in qualitatively and quantitatively. Furthermore, the numerical study showed a potential implication for particle separation depending on its size when the aspect ratio of the T-shaped microchannel and the flow rate were appropriately leveraged.