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Mixing of non‐Newtonian fluids in wavy serpentine microchannel using electrokinetically driven flow
Author(s) -
Cho ChingChang,
Chen ChiehLi,
Chen Cha'oKuang
Publication year - 2012
Publication title -
electrophoresis
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.666
H-Index - 158
eISSN - 1522-2683
pISSN - 0173-0835
DOI - 10.1002/elps.201100496
Subject(s) - microchannel , mechanics , mixing (physics) , newtonian fluid , shear thinning , non newtonian fluid , amplitude , materials science , flow (mathematics) , electric field , thermodynamics , rheology , optics , physics , composite material , quantum mechanics
A numerical investigation is performed into the mixing performance of electrokinetically driven non‐Newtonian fluids in a wavy serpentine microchannel. The flow behavior of the non‐Newtonian fluids is described using a power‐law model. The simulations examine the effects of the flow behavior index, the wave amplitude, the wavy‐wall section length, and the applied electric field strength on the mixing performance. The results show that the volumetric flow rate of shear‐thinning fluids is higher than that of shear‐thickening fluids, and therefore results in a poorer mixing performance. It is shown that for both types of fluid, the mixing performance can be enhanced by increasing the wave amplitude, extending the length of the wavy‐wall section, and reducing the strength of the electric field. Thus, although the mixing efficiency of shear‐thinning fluids is lower than that of shear‐thickening fluids, the mixing performance can be improved through an appropriate specification of the flow and geometry parameters. For example, given a shear‐thinning fluid with a flow behavior index of 0.8, a mixing efficiency of 87% can be obtained by specifying the wave amplitude as 0.7, the wavy‐wall section length as five times the characteristic length, the nondimensional Debye–Huckel parameter as 100, and the applied electric field strength as 43.5 V/cm.