Multiphase lattice Boltzmann simulations of droplets in microchannel networks

In this work we study droplet flows in three different microchannel networks by using a multiphase lattice Boltzmann method. It is firstly shown that the lattice Boltzmann method is suitable for simulating droplet flows in complex microchannel geometries. The effect of velocity in the channels downstream of a branching intersection on the path a droplet would take through a microchannel network is investigated. We find that, for the investigated micro­channel geometries, droplets that reached a channel intersection would travel through the downstream branch with the highest local velocity.