Information transmission by Marangoni-driven relaxation oscillations at droplets

Research output: Contribution to journalResearch articleContributedpeer-review

Contributors

Abstract

Marangoni-driven relaxation oscillations can be observed in many systems where concentration gradients of surface-active substances exist. In the present paper, we describe the experimentally observed coupling between relaxation oscillations at neighboring droplets in a concentration gradient. By a numerical parameter study, we evaluate the oscillation characteristics depending on relevant material parameters and the pairwise droplet distance. Based on these findings, we demonstrate that hydrodynamic interaction in multidroplet configurations can lead to a synchronization of the oscillations over the whole ensemble. This effect has the potential to be used as a novel approach for information transmission in microfluidic applications.

Details

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)9250-9262
Number of pages13
JournalSoft matter
Volume14
Issue number45
Publication statusPublished - 2018
Peer-reviewedYes

External IDs

PubMed 30418455

Keywords