Modeling and Simulation of an Electroosmotically Driven Micromixer with Two Rectangular Obstacles Inside the Channel

Abstract

Micromixers are widely employed within the domains of biochemistry, drug delivery, and biomedical applications, among others. The phenomenon of induced-charge electroosmosis has garnered significant attention from the microfluidic research community over the past decade. The model put forth leverages the principles of electroosmosis to enhance the process of fluid mixing. This system incorporates a time-varying electric field, wherein the resulting electroosmosis disturbs the parallel streamlines that are characteristic of the otherwise highly organized laminar flow regime. A sinusoidal electric potential of 0.1 V and a frequency of 9 Hz are applied across the electrodes. In order to further augment the mixing efficiency, two congruent obstacles are judiciously positioned within the channel. The findings indicate that the micromixer exhibits an impressive mixing efficiency approaching 95% and possesses potential applications across diverse fields, including biochemistry and the biomedical sciences.