Droplet length and generation rate investigation inside microfluidic devices by means of CFD simulations and experiments

[Display omitted] •The droplet-based flow inside microfluidic devices was numerically investigated.•The Volume of Fluid Model and the Adaptive Mesh Refinement method were applied.•The operating conditions, fluid properties, and device geometric factors were assessed.•The device entrance angle did not affect the droplet length and generation rate.•A dimensionless correlation was successfully proposed for the droplet length prediction. In this study, the volume of fluid multiphase model (VOF) along with the adaptive mesh refinement method (AMR) was used for the droplet-based flow phenomenon investigation inside a microfluidic device fabricated in poly(dimethylsiloxane) (PDMS). The proposed model was qualitatively and quantitatively validated based on experimental observations. The operating conditions, the fluid properties, and the device geometric effects on the droplet length and generation rate were numerically accessed by multiple regression techniques. A dimensionless correlation was successfully proposed for the droplet length prediction. The numerical simulations contributed to a better understanding of the droplet-based flow dynamic in a microfluidic channel.