Modeling forced liquid convection in rectangular microchannels with electrokinetic effects

The effects of the electric double layer near the solid-liquid interface and the flow induced electrokinetic held on the pressure-driven flow and heat transfer through a rectangular microchannel are analyzed in this work. The electric double layer field in the cross-section of rectangular microchannels is determined by solving a non-linear, two-dimensional Poisson-Boltzmann equation. A body force caused by the electric double field and the flow-induced electrokinetic field is considered in the equation of motion. For steady-state, fully-developed laminar flows, both the velocity-and the temperature fields in a rectangular microchannel are determined for various conditions. The flow and heat transfer characteristics with/without consideration of the electrokinetic effects are evaluated. The results clearly show that, for aqueous solutions of low ionic concentrations and a solid surface of high zeta potential, the liquid flow and heat transfer in rectangular microchannels are significantly influenced by the presence of the electric double layer field and the induced electrokinetic flow. (C) 1998 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.