Electrode configuration optimization for maximizing throughput of dielectrophoretic particle separator

In this paper, a Dielectrophoretic (DEP) particle separation device is optimized with the purpose of maximizing a separation throughput. The DEP separation device is composed of a flow channel with electrodes where particles suspended in a flowing medium are separated using the DEP phenomenon; namely, the force exerted on a polarized particle under a non-uniform electric field. Here, the electrode configuration of the device is optimized to overcome low separation throughput that is a main weak point of the DEP device. More specifically, the length and location of positive and negative electrode pieces are optimized for two objectives: The maximization of medium outlet speed and minimization of applied voltage strength. The higher medium speed raises separation throughput, and the lower voltage strength alleviates particle damage. Particle trajectory is calculated by applying a particle dynamics simulation incorporating electric field and fluid analyses. The calculated outlet location of a particle is confined inside the desired region to ensure the success of particle separation. The formulated constrained multi-objective optimization problem is solved using the Non-dominated sorting genetic algorithm II (NSGA-II). The irregularly distributed electrode arrays are obtained as design results, and performances of benchmark and optimized designs are compared. The comparison result shows that 294 % higher throughput can be achieved by optimized irregular electrode array distribution.