Title: Shape Optimization in Microfluidics Speaker: Kevin Long Date/Time: Wednesday, June 28, 2006, 3:00-4:00 pm MD Location: 940/Auditorium Sandia/CA videoconferenced to Bldg. 980/95 (Sandia NM) Brief Abstract: Dispersion of particles in a microfluidic analyzer reduces the sensitivity of the device, so minimizing the dispersion is essential to designing devices capable of detecting biological agents at low concentrations. The design feature we can change is the shape of the microchannel; we therefore have a problem in shape optimization, where the design variable is the shape of the domain on which a PDE is to be solved. Furthermore, in microsystems, very sharp features cannot be made with the acid-etch fabrication process used, so to guarantee a manufacturable solution it is necessary to incorporate the fabrication process in the optimization problem. This feature turns out to make previously existing methods of shape optimization unsuitable for this problem. We will describe the problem and the new formulation of shape optimization devised for it, and show resulting optimal designs. (Kevin Long, Andrew Skulan, Steve Margolis, and Paul Boggs)CSRI POC: Michael Parks, (505) 845-0512 |