Theoretical and numerical investigations of an electroosmotic flow micropump with interdigitated electrodes

Abstract

In this work, an electroosmotic flow micropump is proposed and investigated using theoretical analysis and numerical simulations. The micropump comprises an array of interdigitated electrodes on the top and the bottom surfaces of a rectangular microchannel. Theoretical analysis and extensive numerical simulations are performed to predict the pressure-flow characteristics of the micropump. The results of the model and simulations are compared which show good agreement with each other. The effects of various geometrical parameters including spacing between a pair of electrodes, gap between adjacent pairs of electrodes, width and height of the electrodes, and width of the microchannel and operating parameter including applied voltage on the performance of the micropump in terms of flow and pressure capacity is investigated.