Abstract

In the current article, the effects of drag force on the three-dimensional motion of particles in an inertial microfluidic channel are analytically studied. The drag force has an important role to play in the motion of particles in this class of microscale channels. Analytical expressions are given for determining the drag force exerted on a spherical rigid particle when there is relative motion between the particle and fluid. Furthermore, the influences of particle diameter on the drag force and drag coefficient are analyzed in detail. It is predicted that the present paper would help engineers and researchers to better understand the motion of particles in microfluidic channels.

Keywords: Inertial microfluidic; Particle motion; Drag force; Drag coefficient