We characterize the electro-phoretic motion of charged sphere suspensions in the presence of substantial electro-osmotic flow using a recently introduced small angle super-heterodyne dynamic light scattering instrument (ISASH-LDV). Operation in integral mode gives access to the particle velocity distribution over the complete cell cross-section. Obtained Doppler spectra are evaluated for electro-phoretic mobility, wall electro-osmotic mobility and particle diffusion coefficient. Simultaneous measurements of differing electro-osmotic mobilities leading to asymmetric solvent flow are demonstrated in a custom made electro-kinetic cell fitting standard microscopy slides as exchangeable sidewalls. Scope and range of our approach are discussed demonstrating the possibility of an internal calibration standard and using the simultaneously measured electro-kinetic mobilities in the interpretation of microfluidic pumping experiment involving an inhomogeneous electric field and a complex solvent flow pattern.
Unrestricted particle transport through microfluidic channels is of paramount importance to a wide range of applications, including lab-on-a-chip devices. In this article, we study using video microscopy the electro-osmotic aggregation of colloidal particles at the opening of a micrometer-sized silica channel in presence of a salt gradient. Particle aggregation eventually leads to clogging of the channel, which may be undone by a time-adjusted reversal of the applied electric potential. We numerically model our system via the Stokes-Poisson-Nernst-Planck equations in a geometry that approximates the real sample. This allows us to identify the transport processes induced by the electric field and salt gradient and to provide evidence that a balance thereof leads to aggregation. We further demonstrate experimentally that a net flow of colloids through the channel may be achieved by applying a square-waveform electric potential with an appropriately tuned duty cycle. Our results serve to guide the design of microfluidic and nanofluidic pumps that allow for controlled particle transport and provide new insights for anti-fouling in ultra-filtration.
Electroosmotic pumping of fluid through a nanopore that traverses an insulating membrane is considered. The density of surface charge on the membrane is assumed uniform, and sufficiently low for the Poisson-Boltzmann equation to be linearized. The reciprocal theorem gives the flow rate generated by an applied weak electric field, expressed as an integral over the fluid volume. For a circular hole in a membrane of zero thickness, an analytical result is possible up to quadrature. For a membrane of arbitrary thickness, the full Poisson--Nernst--Planck--Stokes system of equations is solved numerically using a finite volume method. The numerical solution agrees with the standard analytical result for electro-osmotic flux through a long cylindrical pore when the membrane thickness is large compared to the hole diameter. When the membrane thickness is small, the flow rate agrees with that calculated using the reciprocal theorem.
The ability to generate complete, or almost complete, chaotic mixing is of great interest in numerous applications, particularly for microfluidics. For this purpose, we propose a strategy that allows us to quickly target the parameter values at which complete mixing occurs. The technique is applied to a time periodic, two-dimensional electro-osmotic flow with spatially and temporally varying Helmoltz-Smoluchowski slip boundary conditions. The strategy consists of following the linear stability of some key periodic pathlines in parameter space (i.e., amplitude and frequency of the forcing), particularly through the bifurcation points at which such pathlines become unstable.
The study focuses on the 3D electro-hydrodynamic (EHD) instability for flow between to parallel electrodes with unipolar charge injection with and without cross-flow. Lattice Boltzmann Method (LBM) with two-relaxation time (TRT) model is used to study flow pattern. In the absence of cross-flow, the base-state solution is hydrostatic, and the electric field is one-dimensional. With strong charge injection and high electrical Rayleigh number, the system exhibits electro-convective vortices. Disturbed by different perturbation patterns, such as rolling pattern, square pattern, and hexagon pattern, the flow patterns develop according to the most unstable modes. The growth rate and the unstable modes are examined using dynamic mode decomposition (DMD) of the transient numerical solutions. The interactions between the applied Couette and Poiseuille cross-flows and electroconvective vortices lead to the flow patterns change. When the cross-flow velocity is greater than a threshold value, the spanwise structures are suppressed; however, the cross-flow does not affect the streamwise patterns. The dynamics of the transition is analyzed by DMD. Hysteresis in the 3D to 2D transition is characterized by the non-dimensional parameter Y, a ratio of the coulombic force to viscous term in the momentum equation. The change from 3D to 2D structures enhances the convection marked by a significant increase in the electric Nusselt number.
We analyse here the problem of large deformation of dielectric elastomeric membranes under coupled electromechanical loading. Extremely large deformations (enclosed volume changes of 100 times and greater) of a toroidal membrane are studied by the use of a variational formulation that accounts for the total energy due to mechanical and electrical fields. A modified shooting method is adopted to solve the resulting system of coupled and highly nonlinear ordinary differential equations. We demonstrate the occurrence of limit point, wrinkling, and symmetry-breaking buckling instabilities in the solution of this problem. Onset of each of these reversible instabilities depends significantly on the ratio of the mechanical load to the electric load, thereby providing a control mechanism for state switching.