Chaotic induced-charge electro-osmosis.
We present direct numerical simulations of the coupled Poisson-Nernst-Planck and Navier-Stokes equations for an electrolyte around a polarizable cylinder subject to an external electric field. For high fields, a novel chaotic flow phenomenon is discovered. Our calculations indicate significant improvement in the prediction of the mean flow relative to standard asymptotic models. These results open possibilities for chaos-enhanced mixing in microdevices and provide insight into barriers to efficient electrokinetic micropumps with broad applications in electrochemical and lab-on-a-chip systems.
Center for Turbulence Research, Stanford University, Stanford, California 94305, USA and Department of Mechanical Engineering, Stanford University, Stanford, California 94305, USA.
Scott M
SM
Davidson
Center for Turbulence Research, Stanford University, Stanford, California 94305, USA and Department of Mechanical Engineering, Stanford University, Stanford, California 94305, USA.
Mathias B
MB
Andersen
Center for Turbulence Research, Stanford University, Stanford, California 94305, USA and Department of Mechanical Engineering, Stanford University, Stanford, California 94305, USA.
Ali
A
Mani