DC electrokinetic particle transport in an L-shaped microchannel

Abstract

Electrokinetic transport of particles through an L-shaped microchannel under DC electric fields is theoretically and experimentally investigated. The emphasis is placed on the direct current (DC) dielectrophoretic (DEP) effect arising from the interactions between the induced spatially nonuniform electric field around the corner and the dielectric particles. A transient multiphysics model is developed in an arbitrary Lagrangian-Eulerian (ALE) framework, which comprises the Navier-Stokes equations for the fluid flow and the Laplace equation for the electrical potential. The predictions of the DEP-induced particle trajectory shift in the L-shaped microchannel are in quantitative agreement with the obtained experimental results. Numerical studies also show that the DEP effect can alter the angular velocity and even the direction of the particle's rotation. Further parametric studies suggest that the L-shaped microfluidic channel may be utilized to focus and separate particles by size via the induced DEP effect.