Duration
22h Th, 8h Pr, 16h Labo., 14h Proj.
Number of credits
Lecturer
Language(s) of instruction
English language
Organisation and examination
Teaching in the second semester
Schedule
Units courses prerequisite and corequisite
Prerequisite or corequisite units are presented within each program
Learning unit contents
This course is an introduction to small-scale flows and the burgeoning field of microfluidics. Course content: Diffusion, microfabrication, fluidics and chip design, flow control and measurement, laminar mixing, surface tension, droplet microfluidics, microflows, low Reynolds locomotion, electrowetting and digital microfluidics, electro-hydrodynamics, separation techniques, detection methods, applications in life science.
Learning outcomes of the learning unit
At the end of this course, the student will have a good overview of microfluidics. He/She will get a good intuition of microscale flows. He/She will be able to apply theoretical bases, for the design of microfluidic components among others. Thanks to the problems and lab sessions (group work), he/she will benefit from the background and potential of other students. He/she will develop critical thinking, creativity and writing skills (in English).
Prerequisite knowledge and skills
Pre-requisites: Elementary fluid mechanics, including Navier-Stokes equations (e.g. MECA0011), physics (e.g. PHYS2020, PHYS2021, PHYS2022), mechanics (e.g. MECA0001), chemistry (e.g. CHIM0603) and linear systems (e.g. SYST0002).
Planned learning activities and teaching methods
Theory and applications are covered in 12 lectures (2h each).
Four sessions (2h each) will be dedicated to solving problems on small-scale fluid mechanics and microfluidic design. Students will work in small groups.
Eight lab sessions (2h each) will be organized. The students will design their own lab-on-a-chip from scratch with a CAD software. Then, they will build the device using soft-lithography (clean room). They will interface and test the device. Finally, they will process and analyze the data (image processing). A lab report (one per group, in English) will be submitted at the end of the sessions.
Mode of delivery (face-to-face ; distance-learning)
Face-to-face
Recommended or required readings
The course is not yet based on a unique textbook. It is more a synthesis of many textbooks and recent publications. At the end of each class, several reading suggestions will be given.
Assessment methods and criteria
- One lab report (group). Weight 35%. The mark is kept from the first to the second exam session.
- Written exam, including theory (weight 35%) and problems (weight 30%).
Work placement(s)
Organizational remarks
The course is given in the Spring term, on Monday from 2pm to 6pm. Presence to the 8 lab sessions is mandatory - any absence to these sessions will have to be officially justified.
An electronic version of the course notes and slides will be available on Dropbox.
Contacts
Tristan Gilet Assistant professor Microfluidics Lab Office: B52 - 0/420 Email: Tristan.Gilet@uliege.be