A study of structure and motion in fluidic microsystems

In this paper, we describe an investigation of structure and motion in fluidic microsystems using unique x-ray imaging, visualization and analysis techniques. By way of illustration, we have applied x-ray microtomography in an investigation of the internal micro structure of the nozzles in an inkjet print head. Utilizing a method for fitting contours to image data, we have identified and localized the nozzle boundaries for subsequent analysis. We have also imaged and measured steady state flow fields in micro pipes of various shapes and sizes using a high frame rate CCD camera and physically based flow recovery algorithms. In support of this, our flow field recovery algorithms were extended to handle fluids with more complicated shapes. Finally, the experimental results were compared with macroscopic flow models.