Investigation of Three Immiscible Fluids in a Microchannel Accounting for the Pressure Gradient and the Electroosmotic Flow

摘要

This study deals with the investigation of three immiscible fluids in a microchannel consisting of two parallel plates. These fluids were composed of two electric conducting fluids and one electric nonconducting fluid. The concept of pumping a nonconducting fluid using interfacial viscous shear stress was applied accounting for the effect of the electroosmosis and pressure gradient. The electric potential and the flow parameters were found resolving the Poisson-Boltzmann equation and the modified Navier-Stokes equations for a hydraulic steady fully-developed laminar flow of an incompressible fluid. The results achieved revealed the influence of the wall and interfacial zeta potentials, the pressure difference, and the dynamic fluid viscosity ratio on the flow characteristics of the three immiscible fluids. The developed approach was compared with a model of two immiscible flows to highlight the relevance of this work.