Electroosmosis modulated physiological fluid propulsion through a non-uniform peristaltic microchannel in bio-microfluidic environment

Abstract

The present work deals with the mathematical modeling of electroosmosis-aided creeping hydrodynamic propulsion of couple stress fluid due to the combined interaction of electroosmosis and peristalsis mechanisms inside a non-uniform porous microchannel under the influence of an imposed electric field. This model is an estimation of embryological fluid transport through a human uterus where an electric field is applied to induce the artificial fluid transport inside the uterus. Here, walls of the non-uniform microchannel are considered with a surface roughness of a sinusoidal pattern. This flow situation is modeled with the help of the equation of continuity, the momentum balance equation, and the Poisson equation. These governing equations are simplified under the lubrication approximation and Debye–Hückel approximation and solved in MATHEMATICA software for the velocity and electric potential function for exploring the kinematics of the considered flow system. Furthermore, the present model is validated with the available scientific literature to ensure its reliability. Illustrative figures are sketched to investigate the impact of physical parameters such as non-uniformity of the channel, surface roughness, electroosmotic velocity, Debye–Hückel parameter, occlusion, Darcy number, and couple stress parameter on the hydrodynamic quantities. To incorporate the fluid trapping effect and visualize the flow pattern inside the non-uniform microchannel, streamline plots are also sketched for sinusoidal waveforms along with other types of waveforms. This research work is applicable in gaining insights about the physiological propulsion in the human uterus due to fluid–structure interaction, as well as in developing artificial organs, bio-microfluidic devices, and lab-on-a-chip systems.