Abstract

In this paper, electrokinetic flow of Newtonian fluids with pressure-dependent viscosity through a nanoslit is investigated. Under the assumption of unidirectional steady flow, taking the dimensionless pressure-viscosity coefficient ɛ as a small parameter, the asymptotic analytical solutions of velocity and pressure up to second order in ɛ, streaming potential and electrokinetic energy conversion (EKEC) efficiency are obtained based on the assumption that the viscosity has a linear dependence on the pressure in a high pressure. It is shown that the pressure-dependent viscosity slightly enhances the streaming potential and electrokinetic power output in smaller electrokinetic width K, which implies that more output electrical energy can be utilized to an external load. The increase of dimensionless pressure-viscosity coefficient could cause a decrease in electrokinetic energy conversion (EKEC) efficiency. However, it could cause an increase in pressure required to drive the flow. Last, within the given parametric regions, the maximum EKEC efficiency for different pressure-viscosity coefficients obtained is about 14% in present analysis.

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