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The purpose of this study is to obtain the numerical as well as regularity results for the nonlinear elliptic set of equations arising in the study of fluid flow in microchannel induced by the pressure in the presence of interfacial electrokinetic effects.

For the numerical study, the authors implemented traditional FDM approach, and for the regularity results they used the classical energy estimates. The interfacial electrokinetic effects result in an additional source term in classical momentum equation, hence affecting the characteristics of the flow and heat transfer. The sinusoidal temperature variation is assumed on side walls.

The results were obtained for various combinations of physical parameters appearing in the governing equations. This study concludes that in the presence of electric double layer, the average heat transfer rate reduces along with larger values of Reynolds number. It is observed that the heat transfer increases with the increase in amplitude ratio and phase deviation. The flow behavior and heat transfer rate inside the microchannel are also strongly affected by the presence of κ (kappa).

To the best of the authors’ knowledge, the problem of heat transfer through microchannel in combination with sinusoidal temperature variation at boundary with electric double layer effects has not been considered previously. Hence, this paper focuses on the influence of the sinusoidal boundary temperature distributions on both sidewalls of a rectangular microchannel through parallel plates with electrokinetic effects on the pressure-driven laminar flow. In addition, a detailed mathematical analysis is also to be carried out to verify the regularity of this model with the proposed boundary conditions. The study used the classical energy method to get the regularity results.

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the immiscible two-layer heat fluid flows in the presence of the electric double layer (EDL) and magnetic field. The effects of EDL, magnetic field and the viscous dissipative term on fluid velocity and temperature, as well as the important physical quantities, are examined and discussed.

The upper and lower regions in a horizontal microchannel with one layer being filled with a nanofluid and the other with a viscous Newtonian fluid. The nanofluid flow in the lower layer is described by the Buongiorno’s nanofluid model with passively controlled model at the boundaries. An appropriate set of non-dimensional quantities are used to simplify the nonlinear systems. The resulting coupled nonlinear equations are solved by using homotopy analysis method.

The present work demonstrates that increasing the EDL thickness and Hartmann number can restrain the fluid flow. The Brinkmann number has a significant role in the enhancement of heat transfer. It is also identified that the influence of EDL effects on microflow cannot be ignored.

The effects of viscous dissipation involved in the heat transfer process and the body force because of the EDL and the magnetic field are considered in the thermal energy and momentum equations for both regions. The detailed derivation procedure of the analytical solution for electrostatic potential is provided. The analytical solutions can lead to improved understanding of the complex microfluidic systems.

The characteristics of fluid motions in micro-channel are strong fluid-wall surface interactions, high surface to volume ratio, extremely low Reynolds number laminar flow, surface roughness and wall surface or zeta potential. Due to zeta potential, an electrical double layer (EDL) is formed in the vicinity of the wall surface, namely, the stern layer (layer of immobile ions) and diffuse layer (layer of mobile ions). Hence, its competent designs demand more efficient micro-scale mixing mechanisms. This paper aims to therefore carry out numerical investigations of electro osmotic flow and mixing in a constricted microchannel by modifying the existing immersed boundary method.

The numerical solution of electro-osmotic flow is obtained by linking Navier–Stokes equation with Poisson and Nernst–Planck equation for electric field and transportation of ion, respectively. Fluids with different concentrations enter the microchannel and its mixing along its way is simulated by solving the governing equation specified for the concentration field. Both the electro-osmotic effects and channel constriction constitute a hybrid mixing technique, a combination of passive and active methods. In microchannels, the chief factors affecting the mixing efficiency were studied efficiently from results obtained numerically.

The results indicate that the mixing efficiency is influenced with a change in zeta potential (ζ), number of triangular obstacles, EDL thickness (λ). Mixing efficiency decreases with an increment in external electric field strength (Ex), Peclet number (Pe) and Reynolds number (Re). Mixing efficiency is increased from 28.2 to 50.2% with an increase in the number of triangular obstacles from 1 to 5. As the value of Re and Pe is decreased, the overall percentage increase in the mixing efficiency is 56.4% for the case of a mixing micro-channel constricted with five triangular obstacles. It is also vivid that as the EDL overlaps in the micro-channel, the mixing efficiency is 52.7% for the given zeta potential, Re and Pe values. The findings of this study may be useful in biomedical, biotechnological, drug delivery applications, cooling of microchips and deoxyribonucleic acid hybridization.

The process of mixing in microchannels is widely studied due to its application in various microfluidic devices like micro electromechanical systems and lab-on-a-chip devices. Hence, its competent designs demand more efficient micro-scale mixing mechanisms. The present study carries out numerical investigations by modifying the existing immersed boundary method, on pressure-driven electro osmotic flow and mixing in a constricted microchannel using the varied number of triangular obstacles by using a modified immersed boundary method. In microchannels, the theory of EDL combined with pressure-driven flow elucidates the electro-osmotic flow.

The effects of polysilicon emitter on the high frequency performance of bipolar transistors have been investigated numerically. The presence of polysilicon grain boundaries was found to slow down the response of the device. This resulted in a lower fT for polysilicon emitter bipolar transistors with a clean polysilicon/ mono‐crystalline silicon interface compared to conventional transistors with an identical emitter‐base junction depth. The interfacial oxide layer that could exist at the polysilicon/mono‐crystalline silicon interface can, depending on the relative thickness of the polysilicon and mono‐crystalline silicon emitter regions, either improve or deteriorate the high frequency performance of the device. For a mono‐crystalline silicon emitter region that is much thinner than the polysilicon emitter region, the lower the tunnelling probability of the interfacial oxide layer the better is the improvement in fT. However, if the thickness of the mono‐crystalline silicon emitter region is made larger with respect to the polysilicon emitter region, the converse can be true.

The purpose of this study is to perform a detailed review on the numerical modeling of multiphase and multicomponent flows in microfluidic system using phase-field method. The phase-field method is of emerging importance in numerical computation of transport phenomena involving multiple phases and/or components. This method is not only used to model interfacial phenomena typical to multiphase flows encountered in engineering and nature but also turns out to be a promising tool in modeling the dynamics of complex fluid-fluid interfaces encountered in physiological systems such as dynamics of vesicles and red blood cells). Intrinsically, a priori unknown topological evolution of interfaces offers to be the most concerning challenge toward accurate modeling of moving boundary problems. However, the numerical difficulties can be tackled simultaneously with numerical convenience and thermodynamic rigor in the paradigm of the phase field method.

The phase-field method replaces the macroscopically sharp interfaces separating the fluids by a diffuse transition layer where the interfacial forces are smoothly distributed. As against the moving mesh methods (Lagrangian) for the explicit tracking of interfaces, the phase-field method implicitly captures the same through the evolution of a phase-field function (Eulerian). In contrast to the deployment of an artificially smoothing function for the interface as used in the volume of a fluid or level set method, however, the phase-field method uses mixing free energy for describing the interface. This needs the consideration of an additional equation for an order parameter. The dynamic evolution of the system (equation for order parameter) can be described by Allen–Cahn or Cahn–Hilliard formulation, which couples with the Navier–Stokes equation with the aid of a forcing function that depends on the chemical potential and the gradient of the order parameter.

In this review, first, the authors discuss the broad motivation and the fundamental theoretical foundation associated with phase-field modeling from the perspective of computational microfluidics. They subsequently pinpoint the outstanding numerical challenges, including estimations of the model-free parameters. They outline some numerical examples, including electrohydrodynamic flows, to demonstrate the efficacy of the method. Finally, they pinpoint various emerging issues and futuristic perspectives connecting the phase-field method and computational microfluidics.

This paper gives unique perspectives to future directions of research on this topic.

This paper aims to study the heat transfer of nanofluid flow driven by the move of channel walls in a microchannel under the effects of the electrical double layer and slippery properties of channel walls. The distributions of velocity, temperature and nanoparticle volumetric concentration are analyzed under different slip-length. Also, the variation rates of flow velocity, temperature, concentration of nanoparticle, the pressure constant, the local volumetric entropy generation rate and the total cross-sectional entropy generation are analyzed.

A recently developed model is chosen which is robust and reasonable from the point of view of physics, as it does not impose nonphysical boundary conditions, for instance, the zero electrical potential in the middle plane of the channel or the artificial pressure constant. The governing equations of flow motion, energy, electrical double layer and stream potential are derived with slip boundary condition presented. The model is non-dimensionalized and solved by using the homotopy analysis method.

Slip-length has significant influences on the velocity, temperature and nanoparticle volumetric concentration of the nanofluid. It also has strong effects on the pressure constant. With the increase of the slip-length, the pressure constant of the nanofluid in the horizontal microchannel decreases. Both the local volumetric entropy generation rate and total cross-sectional entropy generation rate are significantly affected by both the slip-length of the lower wall and the thermal diffusion. The local volumetric entropy generation rate at the upper wall is always higher than that around the lower wall. Also, the larger the slip-length is, the lower the total cross-sectional entropy generation rate is when the thermal diffusion is moderate.

The findings in this work on the heat transfer and flow phenomena of the nanofluid in microchannel are expected to make a contribution to guide the design of micro-electro-mechanical systems.

The on-chip high-throughput mixing process is one of the main challenges in the preparation process in clinical diagnostics. Because of high laminar flow in micro-channel, the fluid should be disturbed by external force. This paper aims to study pulsed AC electrothermal flow and the multiphysic interaction between the fluid behavior, external electric field, temperature field and convection-diffusion field to generate perturbation effect inside the channel.

A set of numerical simulations were carried out by multiphysic interactions between the fluid behavior, external electric field, temperature field and convection-diffusion field to generate the pulsed AC electrothermal flow inside the channel. Behavior of electrode–electrolyte system is discussed using the electrical lumped circuit model.

Highly efficient temperature gradients are generated by applying pulsed electric potential over the electrodes; as a result, efficient secondary flows form inside the channel. The proposed method increases the interfacial contact area between the fluids and enhances the molecular diffusion transport phenomena. Maximum temperature rise of 4.1 K is observed in the gap between the electrodes for 0.08 S/m fluid medium, where the electric field is much stronger than elsewhere. Velocity field and concentration analysis reveal high performance perturbation effects for the mixing process. The periodic stretching and folding effects increase the interfacial contact area between the fluids by using pulsed AC electrothermal flow. Based on the results, 83 per cent mixing efficiency is achieved for 0.08 S/m fluid medium with a microchannel length of 400 µm. Both the mixing efficiency and generated temperature rise increase by increasing the fluid ionic strength.

The ability to generate low temperature rise is very important for AC electrothermally driven fluidic chips such as immunoassay chips. In the present research, a novel actuation mechanism has been proposed to generate AC electrothermal manipulation mechanism and enhance the mixing efficiency by using pulsed AC electrothermal flow.

The purpose of this paper is to describe the development of an electroosmotic dynamic model to simulate the transport phenomena in association with the electric therapy in modern medicine.

The present study builds a new model by employing SUPG finite element method to solve the electroosmotic transport equation in microchannels of human body.

The present electroosmotic finite element analysis demonstrated that the electric treatment has a better curative effect.

The governing electric field equations for tissue fluids in microchannel include the Laplace equation for the effective electrical potential and the Helmholtz equation for the electrical potential established in the electric double layer (EDL). The transport equations governing the hydrodynamic field variables include the mass conservation equation for the electrolyte and the equations of motion for the incompressible charged fluids subject to an electroosmotic body force.

The phenomena of microchannels are dominated by elliptic equations, Laplace, Helmholtz and diffusion equations (Navier Stokes equations at Re=0.0259). These governing equations explain why the reaction of electric treatment is very fast, even immediate.

The analysis of the coupled hydrodynamic and electrical fields, the externally applied electric potential has been shown to be an aid to accelerate the tissue fluid due to the formation of an EDL. Interaction of plasma and tissue fluids in human body is also revealed.

The purpose of this paper is to study the mixing performance of the electrokinetically-driven power-law fluids in a zigzag microchannel.

The Poisson-Boltzmann equation, the Laplace equation, the modified Cauchy momentum equation, and the convection-diffusion equation are solved to describe the flow characteristics and mixing performance of power-law fluids in the zigzag microchannel. A body-fitted grid system and a generalized coordinate transformation method are used to model the grid system and transform the governing equations, respectively. The transformed governing equations are solved numerically using the finite-volume method.

The mixing efficiency of dilatant fluids is higher than that of pseudoplastic fluids. In addition, the mixing efficiency can be improved by increasing the width of the zigzag blocks or extending the total length of the zigzag block region.

The results presented in this study provide a useful insight into potential strategies for enhancing the mixing performance of the power-law fluids in a zigzag microchannel. The results of this study also provide a useful source of reference for the development of efficient and accurate microfluidic systems.

Digital microfluidic devices have been demonstrated to have great potential for a wide range of applications. These devices need expensive photolithography process and clean room facilities, while printed circuit board (PCB) technology provides high configurability and at low cost. This study aims to investigate the mechanism of electrowetting-on-a-dielectric (EWOD) on PCB by solving the multiphysics interaction between fluid droplet and electric field. The performance of system will be improved by inducing an efficient electric field inside the droplet.

To induce an electric field inside the droplet on a PCB and change the initial contact angle, the mechanism of EWOD is studied based on energy minimization method and a set of simulations are carried out by considering multiphysics interaction between the fluid droplet and external electric field. The performance of EWOD on a PCB system is investigated using different electrode structures.

Surface tension plays an efficient role in smaller sizes and can be used to move and control a fluid droplet on a surface by changing the interfacial surface tension. EWOD on a PCB system is studied. and it revealed that any change in electric field affects the droplet contact angle and as a result droplet deformation and movement. The electrode pattern is an important parameter which could change the electric potential distribution inside the droplet. Array of electrodes with square, zigzag interdigitated and crescent shapes are studied to enhance the EWOD force on a PCB substrate. Based on the results, the radial shape of the crescent electrodes keeps almost the same actuated contact line, applies uniform force on the droplet periphery and prevents the droplet from large deformation. A droplet velocity of 0.6 mm/s is achieved by exciting the crescent electrodes at 315 V. Furthermore, the behavior of system is characterized for process parameters such as actuation voltage, dielectric constant of insulator layer, fluidic material properties and the resultant velocity and contact angle. The study of contact angle distribution and droplet motion revealed that it is helpful to generate EWOD mechanism on a PCB which does not need more complicated fabrication processes.

The ability to handle and manipulate the droplets is very important for chemistry on-chip analysis such as immunoassay chips. Furthermore, a PCB-based electrowetting-on-dielectric device is of high interest because it does not need cleanroom facilities and avoids additional high-cost fabrication processes. In the present research, the EWOD mechanism is studied on a PCB by using different electrode patterns.