Vortex Flow Driven by Electroosmosis in Microchannels

The governing equations of electroosmotic flow, including the Navier-Stokes (N-S) equations, Laplace equation and Poisson-Boltzmann equation, are set up in a straight microchannel. The meshless method is employed as a discrete scheme for the solution domain. The semi-implicit multistep (SIMS) method is used to solve the Navier-Stokes equations. The simulation results demonstrated that different patterns of the zeta potential over the channel surface could induce different flow profiles for the vortex. The rotational direction of the vortex is determined by the electroosmotic driving force.