Numerical investigation on electrohydrodynamic conduction pumping with an external flow

Abstract

As an advanced flow control and generation technology, electrohydrodynamic (EHD) pumping has received extensive attention in recent years. EHD conduction pumping is a type of EHD pumping that makes use of electric Coulomb force produced by an applied electric field and heterocharge layers formed near the electrodes in dielectric liquids. In this paper, we numerically investigated the flow characteristics of EHD conduction pumping with an external flow. A two-dimensional flushed electrode configuration with the external flow was considered. The coupled series of governing equations, which includes the charge conservation equations and the Poisson equation for the electric potential, are integrated into the finite-volume framework of the open-source OpenFOAM. The effects of external flow's strength and flow direction on the heterocharge layers and the flow field are investigated. The strength of external flow is shown by the Reynolds number varying between 0 and 40. It is found that with the strong external flow, the structure of heterocharge layers is seriously deformed toward the downstream. In addition, the maximum velocity generated in the flow field of the co-current flow is greater than that of the countercurrent flow.