Issue 42, 2023

Swelling-induced patterning in soft microchannels

Abstract

We study the effect of inflation on the swelling-induced wrinkling of thin elastic membranes in a set-up that is commonly used to create microchannels in lab-on-chip applications. Using a combination of experiments and associated numerical simulations, we demonstrate that the out-of-plane deformation of the inflated membrane and the resulting anisotropic stress lead to two distinct instabilities as the swelling progresses. The membrane first develops small-amplitude wrinkles that retain the cross-channel symmetry. Their wavelength depends on the pressure and is set in a process similar to the axisymmetric buckling of pressurised, uni-axially compressed cylindrical shells. As swelling increases, the membrane undergoes a secondary instability during which the wrinkles coarsen into large-amplitude folds whose morphology can be controlled by the degree of pre-inflation. We elucidate the fundamental mechanisms responsible for this behaviour and explain how inflation can be used as a control mechanism in the manufacture of microchannels.

Graphical abstract: Swelling-induced patterning in soft microchannels

Supplementary files

Article information

Article type
Paper
Submitted
31 Jūl. 2023
Accepted
12 Okt. 2023
First published
12 Okt. 2023
This article is Open Access
Creative Commons BY license

Soft Matter, 2023,19, 8203-8212

Swelling-induced patterning in soft microchannels

H. Li, A. Retallick, A. Juel, M. Heil and D. Pihler-Puzović, Soft Matter, 2023, 19, 8203 DOI: 10.1039/D3SM01008B

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