Numerical Simulation of Electroosmotic Flow near Earthworm Surface

Abstract

The electroosmotic flow near an earthworm surface is simulated numerically to further understand the anti soil adhesion mechanism of earthworm. A lattice Poisson method is employed to solve electric potential and charge distributions in the electric double layer along the earthworm surface. The external electric field is obtained by solving a Laplace equation. The electroosmotic flow controlled by the Navier-Stokes equations with external body force is simulated by the lattice Boltzmann method. A benchmark test shows that accurate electric potential distributions can be obtained by the LPM. The simulation shows that the moving vortices, which probably contribute to anti soil adhesion, are formed near earthworm body surface by the nonuniform and variational electrical force.