Survey track-related courses

3T340 Micro- and Nanofluidics 4 ECTS
Lecturers:
Prof. Anton Darhuber
Dr. Jens Harting
Dr. Henk Huinink
Objectives
This course will provide students with an overview of micro- and nanofluidics, i.e.
aspects of fluid mechanics, heat- and mass transfer at small length scales where surface
and interface effects dominate the dynamics. The students will gain insight into the forces
and physical mechanisms that determine and are available for transport at micro- and
nanoscales. Although the course does not focus on microfabrication and device design, it
will provide students with a basis for estimating quantities such as stresses exerted by
liquids on microscopic objects, flow velocities and mixing efficiencies. These skills will
facilitate the identification of the best-suited transport mechanism for a specific system in
the context of fundamental research or industrial R&D.
Contents
1. Length scales:
- The transition from the molecular to the continuum picture
2. The predominance of viscous friction and interfacial effects:
- The Stokes equation and corresponding boundary conditions
3. Surface forces:
- Liquids in contact with other phases: surface tension, Van der Waals & Casimir
forces, contact angles, superhydrophobic surfaces
4. Mixing:
- Brownian motion and diffusion
- Micromixing and chaotic advection
5. Applications:
- Transport in porous media
- Biological systems, lipid membranes and vesicles