High-speed rotary microvalves in water using hydrodynamic force due to induced-charge electrophoresis

Abstract

The development of a high-speed microactuator in water is difficult because of electrostatic problems and hydrodynamic resistance. To overcome these problems, we consider using induced-charge electrophoresis (ICEP) to move actuators. We propose rotary microvalves in water using hydrodynamic force due to ICEP and numerically examine the performance of valves. By the multiphysics coupled simulation technique between fluidics and electrostatics based on the boundary element method along with the thin-double-layer approximation, we find rotary valves using ICEP function effectively at high frequency. In the calculations, the electric and flow field problems in a bounded domain are solved, and the proper boundary conditions are discussed. By employing similar actuators using ICEP, we can dramatically improve the performance of promising microfluidic systems such as lab-on-a-chip.