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SPP 1164:  Nano- and Microfluidics: Bridging the Gap between Molecular Motion and Continuum Flow

Subject Area Physics
Term from 2004 to 2010
Project identifier Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 5472059
 
During the last decade, micro- and nanotechnology has become an important industry. This development has been assisted by a funding policy supporting the design of miniaturised mechanical structures and complex micromachines through which fluids move. To date, however, little attention has been paid to the actual transport of fluids in these confined geometries, even though the fluid flow on increasingly smaller scales cannot always be properly described by conventional continuum equations: physical phenomena which can be neglected on the macro scale become dominant as the length scale diminishes. On the other hand, systems on scales on which micro effects become sensible cannot yet be treated by molecular methods, owing to the lack of computational power. Hence, there is a definite need for novel theories, numerical methods and measurement techniques devised to properly describe the confined fluid flow on length scales in the range from 10 and 1000 nm.
This Priority Programme is aimed at bridging the gap between molecular motion and continuum flow by an interdisciplinary effort. Basic research proposals are invited from physics, engineering, chemistry, biology and medical technology. Interdisciplinary projects are particularly encouraged.
Priority will be given to the following topics:
-- How do solid walls or deformable boundaries influence the motion of liquids on small scales?
-- How are soft objects (e.g. cells) affected by the flow around them, and how do they influence the fluid motion in a confined geometry?
-- How are transport processes modified in the vicinity of a liquid/gas interface?
-- What is the length-scale limit up to which intrinsic micro mechanisms are operative?
-- How can micro- and nanoflows of liquids be driven and controlled by external means?
The main goal of this Priority Programme is the investigation of collective transport phenomena on the micro- and nanoscale. The anticipated results should give a significant boost to the advancement of micro- and nanofluid technologies.
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