Thermally developing streaming potential-mediated pressure-driven flow of Phan–Thien–Tanner fluid in a microchannel

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In this study, we have conducted a semi-analytical investigation into the streaming potential-mediated pressure-driven flow of hydrodynamically fully developed and thermally developing viscoelastic fluid in a parallel plate microchannel. We have utilized a simplified Phan–Thien–Tanner model to describe the rheology of the viscoelastic fluid. Our approach delved into the full Poisson–Boltzmann equation, deriving exact analytical solutions for the electrostatic potential distribution and velocity profile. Furthermore, we concurrently derived semi-analytical solutions for the temperature distribution and Nusselt number, accounting for the effects of heat generation from viscous dissipation and Joule heating in thermally developing flows. We have demonstrated that an increase in the degree of surface charge triggers the streaming potential field, while the volumetric flow rate escalates with the viscoelastic parameter εWik¯2. Moreover, we have observed that the magnitude of the dimensionless temperature decreases with increasing values of the effective Joule heating parameter Speff. Our analysis reveals that the streaming potential effect hampers fluid flow, resulting in an increase in the bulk fluid temperature and consequently reducing the heat transfer rate. We observe that the magnitude of the Nusselt number decreases with increasing Speff. The entropy generation analysis reveals that increasing the Peclet number amplifies flow and temperature gradients, leading to higher fluid irreversibility in microchannels. The Bejan number experiences a significant decrease across the channel, reaching its minimum at a specific axial location before stabilizing further downstream. We find that heat transfer irreversibility predominantly influences system irreversibility, except for the Brinkmann number Br = 0.01, where convective heat transfer dominates at the entrance region, transitioning to friction losses beyond the thermal entry zone.