Experimental and Numerical Studies on Liquid Bridge Stretching in Uni-port Lifted Hele-Shaw Cell for Spontaneous Fabrication of Well-Like Structures

The formation of liquid bridge between solid surfaces is of interest to fluid dynamics researchers due to the rich flow physics in the problem, as well as its various applications in engineering and biology. In this work, we propose a technique to spontaneously fabricate well-like structure by stretching the liquid bridge of highly viscous fluid in uni-port lifted Hele-Shaw cell (ULHSC). The numerical simulations are used to characterize optimal set of flow parameters for which wells are formed. Results from the simulations also yield insight into the flow physics governing micro-well formation. In the numerical simulation study, single hole is incorporated in the lower plate and upper plate is lifted with the uniform velocity. Parametric characterization of the system reveals that growth rate of the air bubble through the uni-port depends on the size of the hole diameter on a lower plate. Experiments are carried on ULHSC for two different holes diameters on bottom plate at same capillary number. Overall, the paper develops insights towards shaping of fluid in 3D well-like structures using ULHSC via numerical simulation and experimental studies.