Dynamic aspects of electroosmotic flow in rectangular microchannels

The study presents an analysis of the dynamic aspects of the electroosmotic flow in rectangular microchannels. An analytical solution for electrical potential distribution in the channel is obtained by solving the linearized Poisson-Boltzmann equation under the Debye-Hiickel approximation. Dynamic electroosmotic flow field driven by an alternating electric field is solved analytically by using the Green's function method. Parametric studies are carried out to examine the time evolution of the electroosmotic flow under the effects of the channel size, ionic concentration, and zeta potential. Specifically, the effect of frequency-dependent AC electric field on the oscillating electroosmotic flow is discussed. In addition, the solution of the slip velocity approximation based on the Stokes second problem is presented for comparison with the results obtained from the analytical scheme developed in this study. (C) 2004 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.