论文标题
布雷斯的悖论和微流体网络中的可编程行为
Braess's paradox and programmable behaviour in microfluidic networks
论文作者
论文摘要
现在正在设计微流体系统，以执行越来越复杂的任务。但是，由于微观流的通常线性性质，它们的运行通常需要大量的外部控制设备，这阻碍了综合控制机制的发展。我们通过设计微流体网络来解决这一困难，该网络在施加的压力和流量之间表现出非线性关系，可以利用这些网络，仅通过操纵输入和/或输出压力来切换内部流动的方向。我们表明，这些网络表现出Braess悖论的实验支持的流体类似物，其中关闭中间通道会导致更高而不是较低的总流量。线束行为是可扩展的，可用于用多个开关实现流程路由。这些发现有可能提高微流体网络中内置控制机制的开发，从而促进了便携式系统的创建，而便携式系统可能有一天可以像微电子电路一样可控。
Microfluidic systems are now being designed with precision to execute increasingly complex tasks. However, their operation often requires numerous external control devices due to the typically linear nature of microscale flows, which has hampered the development of integrated control mechanisms. We address this difficulty by designing microfluidic networks that exhibit a nonlinear relation between applied pressure and flow rate, which can be harnessed to switch the direction of internal flows solely by manipulating input and/or output pressures. We show that these networks exhibit an experimentally-supported fluid analog of Braess's paradox, in which closing an intermediate channel results in a higher, rather than lower, total flow rate. The harnessed behavior is scalable and can be used to implement flow routing with multiple switches. These findings have the potential to advance development of built-in control mechanisms in microfluidic networks, thereby facilitating the creation of portable systems that may one day be as controllable as microelectronic circuits.
