“A technological platform has been developed in which millimetre-scale cubes are assembled into 3D structures that control capillary action — enabling programmable fluid flows and modelling of a range of fluidic processes.”
“In this platform, millimetre-scale cubes known as unit cells have internal architectures that draw up fluids through capillary action. The combined capillary action of stacked unit cells produces a vertical flow of fluid.
“The authors report that a tree-like structure built from the unit cells continuously delivers liquid from a reservoir to the tips of the branches, where the liquid evaporates — a process that mimics transpiration in natural trees.”
“The flow of liquid in natural structures, such as tree leaves or soil, depends on the arrangement of the components in those structures3. Cellular fluidics is therefore the perfect tool with which to mimic such liquid flow, because the unit cells can be arranged in the same way as can the building blocks of the natural structures.”
“…the authors derived a theoretical model that describes how strut diameter and the number of cells coupled together influence the overall capillary action of a cellular fluidics system.”
Article (https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-021-01708-2)
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