Pulse electroosmotic flow of Newtonian fluids in parallel plate microchannels under triangular and half-sinusoidal pulse electric fields

Abstract

Unlike the conventional electroosmotic flow (EOF) driven by direct current and alternating current electric fields, this study investigates the pulse EOF of Newtonian fluids through a parallel plate microchannel actuated by pulse electric fields. Specifically, the pulses considered encompass triangular and half-sinusoidal pulse waves. By applying the Laplace transform method and the residual theorem, the analytical solutions for the velocity and volumetric flow rate of the pulse EOF associated with these two pulse waves are derived, respectively. The influence of pulse width a¯ and electrokinetic width K on velocity is further considered, while the volumetric flow rate as a function of time t¯ and electrokinetic width K is examined separately. A comparison of the volumetric flow rates related to these two pulse waves under varying parameters is also conducted. The research findings indicate that irrespective of the pulse wave, a broader pulse width results in a prolonged period and increased amplitude of the velocity profile. Elevating the electrokinetic width yields higher near-wall velocities, with negligible effect on near-center velocities. It is noteworthy that regardless of the electrokinetic width, the near-wall velocity exceeds that of the near-center during the first half-cycle, while the situation reverses during the second half-cycle. The volumetric flow rate varies periodically with time, initially surging rapidly with electrokinetic width before gradually stabilizing at a constant level. More interestingly, independent of pulse width and electrokinetic width, the volumetric flow rates linked to the half-sinusoidal pulse wave consistently surpass those of the triangular pulse wave. For any pulse width, the volumetric flow rates corresponding to the two pulse waves grow with higher electrokinetic widths, especially prominent at alternating intervals of the two half-cycles within a complete cycle. These findings have important implications for improving the design and optimization of microfluidic devices in engineering and biomedical applications utilizing pulse EOF.