Investigation of Nonlinear Electrokinetic and Rheological Behaviors of Typical Non-Newtonian Biofluids through Annular Microchannels

Authors

1 Department of Mechanical Engineering, Shiraz Branch, I.A.U., Shiraz, Iran

2 Foulad Institute of Technology, Fouladshahr, Isfahan, 84916-63763, Iran

Abstract

Electroosmosis is the predominant mechanism for flow generation in lab-on-chip devices. Since most biofluids encountered in these devices reveal non-Newtonian behavior, a special understanding of the fundamental physics of the relevant transport phenomena seems vital for an accurate design of such miniaturized devices. In this study, a numerical analysis is presented to explore transport characteristics of typical non-Newtonian biofluids through annular microchannels under combined action of pressure and electrokinetic forces. The flow is considered steady and hydrodynamically fully developed. A finite difference method is used to solve the Poisson-Boltzmann and Cauchy momentum equations, while the classical boundary condition of no velocity-slip for the flow field is applied. The Poisson-Boltzmann equation is solved in the exact form without using the Debye-Hückel approximation. After numerically solving the governing equations, role of the key parameters in hydrodynamic behavior of the flow is analyzed and discussed.

Keywords

Journal of Applied Fluid Mechanics
Volume 9, Issue 1
November and December 2015
Pages 367-378

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