Electrohydrodynamic analysis of electrowetting-on-dielectric (EWOD)-Induced transport of a microdroplet based on the lattice Boltzmann method

The Lattice Boltzmann-electrohydrodynamic approach is proposed to study the dynamics of electrowetting-on-dielectric-driven microdroplet transport. We apply the pseudo-potential lattice Boltzmann model to study the dynamic process of droplet motion and introduce a new distribution function to solve the Laplace equation to predict the electric field distribution. The EWOD effect is numerically analyzed to verify the validity and versatility of the method. Then, the electric potential distribution and the changes of the droplet morphology, droplet edges and contact angles over time are studied. Additionally, we investigate the effects of the crucial factors, including the electrode switching frequency, applied voltage and droplet viscosity, on droplet motion. The numerical results agree well with the theoretical values and experimental results from the literature. (c) 2019 Author(s).