Abstract
The hydrodynamic and thermal behavior of the electroosmotic flow of power-law nanofluid is studied. A modified Cauchy momentum equation governing the hydrodynamic behavior of power-law nanofluid flow in a rectangular microchannel is firstly developed. To explore the thermal behavior of power-law nanofluid flow, the energy equation is developed, which is coupled to the velocity field. A numerical algorithm based on the Crank–Nicolson method and compact difference schemes is proposed, whereby the velocity, temperature, and Nusselt number are computed for different parameters. A larger nanoparticle volume fraction significantly reduces the velocity and enhances the temperature regardless of the base fluid rheology. The Nusselt number increases with the flow behavior index and with electrokinetic width when considering the surface heating effect, which decreases with the Joule heating parameter. The heat transfer rate of electroosmotic flow is enhanced for shear thickening nanofluids or at a greater nanoparticle volume fraction.
Highlights
The development of the micro-electric mechanical system (MEMS) has received great attention because of its innovative application in chemical, medical, and biological-related industries
Electroosmotic flow (EOF) being a major electrokinetic effect refers to the motion of an ionized liquid inside microchannels with respect to the stationary charged channel walls under an external electric field applied tangentially along the microchannel [2]
The EOF of Jeffrey fluid [16] and Maxwell fluid [17] under an alternating current (AC) electric field are investigated in terms of the influence of nonlinear rheological behavior on flow performance
Summary
The development of the micro-electric mechanical system (MEMS) has received great attention because of its innovative application in chemical, medical, and biological-related industries. My previous works conducted parametric studies on the EOF of power-law fluids in terms of the flow behavior index and electrokinetic width in a cylindrical circular microcapillary [19] and in a rectangular microchannel [20]. The Joule heating effect that is an inherent phenomenon in EOF resulting from the ohmic resistance of the electrolyte dominates the heat generation of fluid flow It results in the change of temperature-dependent electrical/transport properties, such as viscosity and electric conductivity of the working liquids, which, in turn, influences the hydrodynamic behavior of EOF. The model above has been extended to the case of power-law fluid in a slit microchannel [25] and in a rectangular microchannel [26], where the temperature distribution and Nusselt number have been numerically solved by taking into account the Joule heating effect and viscous dissipation.
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