Chirality enhanced shear‐free mixing of highly viscous fluids in an origami reactor

Abstract Mixing high‐viscosity fluids is essential in chemical production, but it is challenging since the Reynolds number is small in such a system. As a result, dead zones with insufficient mixing usually exist. Introducing chaotic convection in fluids is a critical way to improve mixing efficiency. Based on the art of origami, a foldable reactor capable of generating chiral shear‐free chaotic convection is designed in this study. Finite element analysis and image analysis were used to evaluate the mixing performance of the reactor. The chiral structure increases the freedom of movement of the reactor, which drives high‐viscosity fluids inside to generate complex vortices. In addition, the vertical eddying movements significantly enhance the mixing process. Therefore, highly viscous fluids, such as glycerol and toothpaste, are well mixed in a short time without any dead zone. The chiral origami structure shows great potential for fabricating functional chemical engineering systems.