Electroosmotic Flow in a Grooved Micro-Channel Configuration: a Comparitive Study of Micro-PIV Measurments and Numerical Simulations

Author(s): Dutta, Prashanta, Min Jun Kim, Kenneth D. Kihm, Ali Beskok

Journal: 2001 ASME International Mechanical Engineering Congress and Exposition (2001) Nov. 11-16, New York, 2001: 677-683.

Abstract:
This paper presents global and point-wise comparisons of experimental measurements and numerical simulation results of electroosmotically driven flows in grooved micro-channels. The micro-channels are made by photolithography using poly-dimethyl- siloxane (PDMS), a type of silicon product, which is transparent, permeable to a variety of liquids and vapors. Experiments are performed using a micro-scale particle image velocimetry (µ-PIV) system developed for measurement of flows in micro-channel geometries. Full field velocity distributions are measured in Eulerian viewpoint by tracking the fluorescence images. The numerical algorithm is based on the spectral element formulation of incompressible Navier-Stokes equations with electroosmotic forcing. The algorithm utilizes modal expansions in mixed quadrilateral and triangular meshes, enabling complex geometry discretizations with spectral accuracy. Comparisons of experimental and numerical results show good agreements, validating both numerical and experimental methodologies.