Claas Willem Visser

Control of slippage with tunable bubble mattresses

Tailoring the hydrodynamic boundary condition is essential for both applied and fundamental aspects of drag reduction. Hydrodynamic friction on superhydrophobic substrates providing gas–liquid interfaces can potentially be optimized by controlling the interface geometry. Therefore, establishing stable and optimal interfaces is crucial but rather challenging. Here we present unique superhydrophobic microfluidic devices that allow the presence of stable and controllable microbubbles at the boundary of microchannels. We experimentally and numerically examine the effect of microbubble geometry on the slippage at high resolution. The effective slip length is obtained for a wide range of protrusion angles, θ, of the microbubbles into the flow, using a microparticle image velocimetry technique. Our numerical results reveal a maximum effective slip length, corresponding to a 23% drag reduction at an optimal θ ≈ 10°. In agreement with the simulation results, our measurements correspond to up to 21% drag reduction when θ is in the range of −2° to 12°. The experimental and numerical results reveal a decrease in slip length with increasing protrusion angles when θ ≳ 10°. Such microfluidic devices with tunable slippage are essential for the amplified interfacial transport of fluids and particles.

Toward 3D Printing of Pure Metals by Laser‐Induced Forward Transfer

3D printing of common metals is highly challenging because metals are generally solid at room conditions. Copper and gold pillars are manufactured with a resolution below 5 μm and a height up to 2 mm, using laser-induced forward transfer to create and eject liquid metal droplets. The solidified drops shape is crucial for 3D printing and is discussed as a function of the laser energy.

Optimizing cell viability in droplet-based cell deposition

Biofabrication commonly involves the use of liquid droplets to transport cells to the printed structure. However, the viability of the cells after impact is poorly controlled and understood, hampering applications including cell spraying, inkjet bioprinting, and laser-assisted cell transfer. Here, we present an analytical model describing the cell viability after impact as a function of the cell-surrounding droplet characteristics. The model connects (1) the cell survival as a function of cell membrane elongation, (2) the membrane elongation as a function of the cell-containing droplet size and velocity, and (3) the substrate properties. The model is validated by cell viability measurements in cell spraying, which is a method for biofabrication and used for the treatment of burn wounds. The results allow for rational optimization of any droplet-based cell deposition technology, and we include practical suggestions to improve the cell viability in cell spraying.

Drop shaping by laser-pulse impact

We show how the deposition of laser energy induces propulsion and strong deformation of an absorbing liquid body. Combining high speed with stroboscopic imaging, we observe that a millimeter-sized dyed water drop hit by a millijoule nanosecond laser pulse propels forward at several meters per second and deforms until it eventually fragments. The drop motion results from the recoil momentum imparted at the drop surface by water vaporization. We measure the propulsion speed and the time-deformation law of the drop, complemented by boundary-integral simulations. The drop propulsion and shaping are explained in terms of the laser-pulse energy, the drop size, and the liquid properties. These findings are, for instance, crucial for the generation of extreme ultraviolet light in nanolithography machines.

Assessing bioink shape fidelity to aid material development in 3D bioprinting

During extrusion-based bioprinting, the deposited bioink filaments are subjected to deformations, such as collapse of overhanging filaments, which compromises the ability to stack several layers of bioink, and fusion between adjacent filaments, which compromises the resolution and maintenance of a desired pore structure. When developing new bioinks, approaches to assess their shape fidelity after printing would be beneficial to evaluate the degree of deformation of the deposited filament and to estimate how similar the final printed construct would be to the design. However, shape fidelity has been prevalently assessed qualitatively through visual inspection after printing, hampering the direct comparison of the printability of different bioinks. In this technical note, we propose a quantitative evaluation for shape fidelity of bioinks based on testing the filament collapse on overhanging structures and the filament fusion of parallel printed strands. Both tests were applied on a hydrogel platform based on poloxamer 407 and poly(ethylene glycol) blends, providing a library of hydrogels with different yield stresses. The presented approach is an easy way to assess bioink shape fidelity, applicable to any filament-based bioprinting system and able to quantitatively evaluate this aspect of printability, based on the degree of deformation of the printed filament. In addition, we built a simple theoretical model that relates filament collapse with bioink yield stress. The results of both shape fidelity tests underline the role of yield stress as one of the parameters influencing the printability of a bioink. The presented quantitative evaluation will allow for reproducible comparisons between different bioink platforms.

Imaging of the Ejection Process of Nanosecond Laser-induced forward Transfer of Gold

Laser-induced forward transfer is a direct-write process suitable for high precision 3D printing of several materials. However, the driving forces related to the ejection mechanism of the donor ma-terial are still under debate. To gain further insights into the ejection dynamics, this article presents results of a series of imaging experiments of the release process of nanosecond LIFT of a 200 nm thick gold donor layer. Images were obtained using a setup which consists of two dual-shutter cam-eras. Both cameras were combined with a 50× long-distance microscope and used to capture coaxial and side-view images of the ejection process. Bright field illumination of the scene was accom-plished by a 6 ns dual-cavity laser source. For laser fluence just above the transfer threshold of 140 mJ/cm2 , the formation of a jet and the subsequent release of a single droplet is observed. The drop-let diameter is estimated to be about 2 μm. For laser fluences above 400 mJ/cm2 the formation and rupture of a blistering bubble is observed, which ultimately leads to an undesirable ejection of mul-tiple droplets

Printing Functional 3D Microdevices by Laser-Induced Forward Transfer

Slender, out-of-plane metal microdevices are made in a new spatial domain, by using laser-induced forward transfer (LIFT) of metals. Here, a thermocouple with a thickness of 10 µm and a height of 250 µm, consisting of platinum and gold pillars is demonstrated. Multimaterial LIFT enables manufacturing in the micrometer to millimeter range, i.e., between lithography and other 3D printing technologies.

In-air microfluidics enables rapid fabrication of emulsions, suspensions, and 3D modular (bio)materials

Designer microparticles and multiscale materials can be fabricated in one step by microfluidic processing in the air. Microfluidic chips provide unparalleled control over droplets and jets, which have advanced all natural sciences. However, microfluidic applications could be vastly expanded by increasing the per-channel throughput and directly exploiting the output of chips for rapid additive manufacturing. We unlock these features with in-air microfluidics, a new chip-free platform to manipulate microscale liquid streams in the air. By controlling the composition and in-air impact of liquid microjets by surface tension–driven encapsulation, we fabricate monodisperse emulsions, particles, and fibers with diameters of 20 to 300 μm at rates that are 10 to 100 times higher than chip-based droplet microfluidics. Furthermore, in-air microfluidics uniquely enables module-based production of three-dimensional (3D) multiscale (bio)materials in one step because droplets are partially solidified in-flight and can immediately be printed onto a substrate. In-air microfluidics is cytocompatible, as demonstrated by additive manufacturing of 3D modular constructs with tailored microenvironments for multiple cell types. Its in-line control, high throughput and resolution, and cytocompatibility make in-air microfluidics a versatile platform technology for science, industry, and health care.

Oblique drop impact onto a deep liquid pool

The oblique impact of a liquid droplet onto a deep liquid pool is studied numerically with the adaptive volume-of-fluid solver Basilisk. The splashing threshold, cavity formation, cavity evolution and the maximum cavity dimensions are quantified as a function of the Weber number and the impact angle. We compare the numerical results with recent experimental work by Gielen et al. [Phys. Rev. Fluids 2, 083602 (2017)]. Similarly to the experimental results, three different impact regimes are observed: deposition of the droplet onto the pool, single-sided splashing in the direction of the impact and splashing in all directions. We show good qualitative and quantitative agreement of the splashing behaviour and cavity formation between the simulations and the experiments. Furthermore, the simulations provide a three dimensional view of the impact phenomenon, give access to velocity and pressure fields, and allow to explore impact parameters that are hard to achieve experimentally.

Continuous-wave laser generated jets for needle free applications

We designed and built a microfluidic device for the generation of liquid jets produced by thermocavitation. A continuous wave (CW) laser was focused inside a micro-chamber filled with a light-absorbing solution to create a rapidly expanding vapor bubble. The chamber is connected to a micro-channel which focuses and ejects the liquid jet through the exit. The bubble growth and the jet velocity were measured as a function of the devices geometry (channel diameter D and chamber width A). The fastest jets were those for relatively large chamber size with respect to the channel diameter. Elongated and focused jets up to 29 m/s for a channel diameter of [Formula: see text] and chamber size of [Formula: see text] were obtained. The proposed CW laser-based device is potentially a compact option for a practical and commercially feasible needle-free injector.