Study of the Transient Electroosmotic Flow of Maxwell Fluids in Square Cross-Section Microchannels

Abstract

Several kinds of fluids with non-Newtonian behavior are manipulated in microfluidic devices for medical, chemical and biological applications. This work presents an analytical solution for the transient electroosmotic flow of Maxwell fluids in square cross-section microchannels. The appropriate combination of the momentum equation with the rheological Maxwell model derives in a mathematical model based in a hyperbolic partial differential equation, that permits to determine the velocity profile. The flow field is solved using the Green’s functions for the steady-state regime, and the method of separation of variables for the transient phenomenon in the electroosmotic flow. Taking in to account the normalized form of the governing equations, we predict the influence of the main dimensionless parameters on the velocity profiles. The results show an oscillatory behavior in the transient stage of the fluid flow, which is directly controlled by the dimensionless relaxation time, this parameter is an indicator of the competition between elastic and viscous effects. Hence, this investigation about the characteristics of the fluid rheology on the fluid velocity of the transient electroosmotic flow are discussed in order to contribute to the understanding the different tasks and design of microfluidic devices.