International Journal of Engineering Science 40 (2002) 22032221

www.elsevier.com/locate/ijengsci

Dynamic aspects of electroosmotic ow in a cylindrical

microcapillary
Yuejun Kang, Chun Yang *, Xiaoyang Huang
School of Mechanical and Production Engineering, Nanyang Technological University,
50 Nanyang Avenue, 639798 Singapore
Received 11 June 2002; accepted 7 August 2002
(Communicated by E.S. S
UHUBI)

Abstract
Dynamic aspects of the electroosmotic ow (EOF) in a cylindrical capillary are analysed. An analytical
solution for electrostatic potential of the double layer has been derived by solving the complete Poisson
Boltzmann equation for arbitrary zeta-potentials under an analytical scheme. Transient EOF eld in response
to the application of time dependent electric eld is obtained analytically by using Greens function method.
Specically, sinusoidally alternating (AC) electric elds are used to study the eect of frequency-dependent
oscillation on the EOF. Limiting cases of zero frequency and pulsed electric eld are also discussed.
2002 Published by Elsevier Science Ltd.
Keywords: Dynamic electroosmotic ow; Oscillating microchannel ow; AC electric eld; Boltzmann distribution;
Cylindrical capillary

1. Introduction
Electroosmosis refers to the relative motion of polar media adjacent to a charged solid surface
under the application of a tangential electric eld. Generally, most surfaces acquire a certain
amount of electrostatic charges when they are brought into contact with a polar medium. Such
surface charges, in turn, cause both counter-ions and co-ions in the liquid to be preferentially
redistributed, leading to the formation of an electric double layer (EDL) [1]. Conceptually, the
EDL can be divided into an inner compact layer and an outer diuse layer. The inner layer,
usually of several Angstroms, is immediately next to the charged surface and contains a layer of
*

Corresponding author. Tel.: +65-6790-4883; fax: +65-6791-1859.

E-mail address: mcyang@ntu.edu.sg (C. Yang).

0020-7225/02/$ - see front matter 2002 Published by Elsevier Science Ltd.

PII: S 0 0 2 0 - 7 2 2 5 ( 0 2 ) 0 0 1 4 3 - X

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Y. Kang et al. / International Journal of Engineering Science 40 (2002) 22032221

immobile counter-ions that are strongly attracted to the surface. In contrast, ions in the diuse
layer are less aected by the charged surface and are mobile. Within the diuse layer, the counterions predominate and hence the local net charge density is not zero. Application of an external
electric eld tangentially to the EDL eld would exert an electric body force on the ions in the
diuse layer, resulting in a net migration of the ions in the EDL region. The moving ions pull
adjacent liquid with them to cause a bulk electroosmotic ow (EOF).
Electroosmosis has a variety of applications in technological processes such as membrane
separation, dewatering the waste sludge and removing poisonous heavy metal ions from soils in
environmental remediation [24]. In addition, electroosmosis is being extensively employed in the
BioMEMS technology as a transporting mode to control liquids such as pumping, valving,
mixing, splitting etc and to delivery solute samples of nanovolumes in microuidics used for
chemical and biological analyses and medical diagnoses [57]. Compared with conventional
laboratory-sized instrumentation, the BioMEMS technology oers numerous advantages including higher throughput, faster analyses, smaller consumption of sample amount, and lower
operation and manufacturing costs.
In the literature, a vast majority of studies have been reported on the steady state EOF in
microcapillaries of various geometric domains such as slit parallel plate [8], cylindrical capillary
[9,10], annulus [11,12], elliptical pore [13,14], rectangular microchannel [15,16], and T and Y
microchannel cross-sections [1719]. In contrast, the transient aspects of the EOF have received
relatively less attention. It should be pointed out that study of unsteady EOF not only can provide
more insights into the characteristics of EOF but also is important to the practical development
and operation of the BioMEMS. According to Fan and Harrison [20], the eciency of electrophoretic separation is strongly dependent on the duration of electroosmotic injection, which in
turn is related to the evolution of the EOF. To reduce the contributions due to injection plug
width and Joule heating, Jacobson et al. [21] proposed a high-speed electrophoretic separation
mode to achieve the separation process within sub-milliseconds. Because of such order of magnitude of the time involved, model development should account for the dynamic eect of the EOF.
Considering slow mixing processes occurred in microuidics due to low Reynolds number
dominated laminar ow, Oddy et al. [22] designed an electrokinetic unstable mixer using uctuating electric elds. In their experiments an instability of EOF driven by sinusoidally alternating
electric elds was observed. On the theoretical side, S
oderman and J
onsson [23] developed a
theoretical framework describing the temporal resolution of the EOF in both planar and cylindrical geometries under the eect of pulsed electric elds. Using slip velocity approach, Satiago
[24] studied the eects of uid inertial and pressure on transient EOFs in a parallel plate. The slip
velocity model was rst proposed by Overbeek [25] who showed that for microchannels with
relatively thin EDL thickness, the ow eld outside the double layer is an irrotational ow with
a slip velocity boundary condition determined by the well-known HelmholtzSmoluchowski
equation. Without assumption of the thin EDL thickness, Keh and Tseng [26] obtained an analytical solution for the transient electrokinetic ow in a capillary tube and a capillary slit. Exclusively, aforementioned theoretical analyses however were based on the DebyeH
uckel linear
approximation, which is valid only for low zeta potentials. Using a complete numerical approach,
Yang et al. [27] simultaneously solved coupled Poisson equation, NernstPlanck equation, and
full NavierStokes equation to study the time and space development of EOF in a two-parallel
plate microchannel.

Y. Kang et al. / International Journal of Engineering Science 40 (2002) 22032221

2205

The current paper presents an in depth analysis of the dynamics of EOF in a cylindrical microcapillary. We start with the time evolution of the transient EOF motivated by a time dependent
electric eld, and discuss the ow eld oscillations excited by a sinusoidally alternating electric
eld. Importantly, the complete PoissonBoltzmann equation governing the EDL electric eld is
analytically solved with arbitrary zeta potentials under a proposed analytical scheme. The validity
of the Boltzmann distribution is discussed. Exact solutions for transient velocity distributions and
time-dependent mean velocities are obtained using the Greens function method. As a comparison, the solution under slip velocity approximation is also presented.
2. Dynamics of electroosmotic ow
2.1. Formulation of the problem
Consider an EOF in a cylindrical capillary of radius a. The liquid in the microcapillary is assumed to be an incompressible, Newtonian, symmetric monovalence electrolyte of density, q, and
viscosity, l. The capillary wall is uniformly charged with the zeta potential, f0 . When an external
electric eld, Et is applied along the axis of the capillary, the liquid starts to move as result of the
interaction between the net charge density in the EDL and the applied electric eld. The motion of
liquid through the cylindrical microcapillary is governed by the NavierStokes equation [4]



our; t
1 o our; t
l
r
Etqe r
q
ot
r or
or

where ur; t is the transient velocity eld. qe r is the local volumetric net charge density of the
electrolyte due to the presence of the EDL, and in combination of the Boltzmann distribution
(a proof of the validity of the Boltzmann distribution will be presented in the next section), it
is expressed as



e0 wr
2
qe r e0 n  n 2n0 e0 sinh
kT
where e0 is the elementary charge, n0 is the ionic concentration in the bulk phase (i.e., far from the
charged surfaces), k is the Boltzmann constant, T is the absolute temperature, and wr is the
electric potential of the EDL.
Introducing the following dimensionless parameters:

u

u
us

t

l
r
t r
2
qa
a

e0 w
kT

We can non-dimensionalize Eqs. (1) and (2) respectively as

!
o
u 1 o
o
u
a2
r

q rEt

ot r or
or
lus e

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Y. Kang et al. / International Journal of Engineering Science 40 (2002) 22032221

and
qe r 2n0 e0 sinhWr

Here us is the reference velocity dened as

us 

er e0
E0 f 0
l

where er is the dielectric constant of the electrolyte and e0 is the permittivity of vacuum. The
reference velocity, us can also be regarded as the slip velocity on the shear plane of the EDL
[25]. Obviously, us is proportional to the magnitude of the external eld, E0 and the zeta potential,
f0 .
Substituting Eq. (5) into Eq. (4), we obtain
!
o
u 1 o
o
u
ja2
r


sinhWrEt
7
ot r or
or
Ws E0
where Ws e0 f0 =kT and j 2n0 e20 =er e0 kT 1=2 . j is the DebyeH
uckel parameter, and 1=j denotes
the characteristic thickness of the EDL. Eq. (7) is subject to the initial and boundary conditions
t 0


u0

r 0

o
u
0 r 1
or

8a

u0

8b

Eq. (7) can be classied as a 2nd order inhomogeneous diusion equation. In the following, an
analytical solution will be sought by using the Greens function approach to obtain the dynamic
EOF eld activated by the time-dependent electric elds.
2.2. Greens function of inhomogeneous diusion equation
According to the Greens function method [28], the general solution of inhomogeneous diusion equation
ou
 Dr2 u Qx; t
ot

is given by
ux; t

t
0

Z Z Z

Gx; t; n; sQn; s dn ds

Z Z Z


Z t ZZ

ou
oG
Gx; t; n; s  un; s
dS ds
on
on
0

Gx; t; n; 0un; 0 dn
10

Y. Kang et al. / International Journal of Engineering Science 40 (2002) 22032221

2207

where Gx; t; n; s is the Greens function of the specied diusion equation, i.e., Eq. (9). The
second and third terms on the right hand side represent the eects of initial and boundary conditions, respectively.
The corresponding problem of Eqs. (7)(8b) for determining the Greens function Gr; tjn; s
should satisfy [29]


oG 1 o
oG
r

dr  ndt  s
11
ot r or
or
subject to the initial and boundary conditions
Gr; 0jn; s 0

12a

o
G0; tjn; s 0
or

12b

G1; tjn; s 0

12c

where dr  n and dr  s are Dirac delta functions. We can see that the source is an impulse at
t s, located at r n. G then gives the description of eect of this impulse as it propagates away
from r n in the course of time.
Taking Hankel transform with respect to rGH HfGg and using the boundary conditions
Eqs. (12b) and (12c), we obtain
dGH
k2n GH nJ0 kn ndt  s
dt

13

where kn are the positive roots of the zero-order Bessel function J0 kn 0.

Now, we take the Laplace transform with respect to tGHL LfGH g and use the initial condition Eq. (12a) to obtain
sGHL k2n GHL nJ0 kn ness

14

We solve for GHL and get

GHL

nJ0 kn n ss
e
s k2n

15

Taking inverse Laplace transform of Eq. (15) gives

2

GH Ht  snJ0 kn nekn ts

16

where Ht  s is the Heaviside step function.

Further, the inversion with respect to Hankel transform leads to
Gr; tjn; s Ht  s

1
X
2J0 knr
nJ0 kn n expk2n t  s
2
J1 kn
n1

17

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Y. Kang et al. / International Journal of Engineering Science 40 (2002) 22032221

According to Eq. (10), using the initial and boundary conditions given in Eqs. (8a) and (8b) we
can show that the solution to Eq. (7) is expressed as

ur; t

t
s0

)
ja2
Gr; tjn; s
sinhWnEs dn ds
Ws E 0
n0
1

18

Substituting Eq. (17) into Eq. (18) leads to


ur; t

Z 
1
2ja2 X
J0 knr t 1
Cn 2
Es expk2n t  s ds
J1 kn s0 E0
Ws n1

19

R1
where Cn n0 nJ0 kn n sinhWndn.
Integrating Eq. (19) along the radius of the cylinder, we obtain the non-dimensional mean
velocity
Z

Z t
2 1
4ja X
1
1
r

Cn
Es expk2n t  s ds
ur; t dr
um t 2
kn J1 kn s0 E0
Ws n1
r0
1

20

2.3. Special cases

2.3.1. Sinusoidally alternating electric eld
Consider the application of a sinusoidally alternating electric eld with an angle frequency x
Et E0 eixt

21

Substituting Eq. (21) into Eq. (19), we can show next

"

1
2ja2 X
J0 knr expib2t  expk2nt

Cn 2
ur; t REAL
Ws n1
J1 kn
k2n ib2

1
2ja2 X
J0 knr k2n cosb2t b2 sinb2t  k2n expk2nt
Cn 2
Ws n1
J1 kn
k4n b4

22

where i is the unit imaginary number. REAL denotes the real part of the solution. Here a new
parameter b is dened as [30]
a
b p
l=qx

23

b represents the aspect ratio of the capillary radius a to the Stokes penetration depth ds , dened as
[30]

Y. Kang et al. / International Journal of Engineering Science 40 (2002) 22032221

ds

r r
l
l

qx
2pqf

2209

24

where f x=2p is the frequency of the applied electric eld.

Accordingly, the mean velocity is given by

um t 2

r  
ur; t dr

r0
1
4ja2 X
1
k2n cosb2t b2 sinb2t  k2n expk2nt
Cn

kn J1 kn
Ws n1
k4n b4

25

2.3.2. Step change electric eld

The external electric eld is applied and remains constant from the time t 0 (i.e., the electric
eld follows step function change)
26

Et E0 Ht
where

Ht  d

1
0

t > d
t < d

27

is the well-known Heaviside step function.

Substituting Eq. (26) into Eqs. (19) and (20), we obtain

ur; t

2 1
2ja X
J0 knr 1  expk2nt
Cn 2
J1 kn
Ws n1
k2n

28

and

um t

1
4ja2 X
1  expk2nt
Cn
Ws n1
k3n J1 kn

29

In fact, we also can derive Eqs. (28) and (29) by setting the angle frequency of the electrical eld x
in Eqs. (22) and (25) equal to zero, and then b 0. Hence Eqs. (22) and (25) can reduce to Eqs.
(28) and (29), respectively.
2.4. Square wave electric eld
For a more general situation when the electric eld is switched on at the time t 0 and remains
constant until it is switched o at the time t d, the electric eld is then described by
E E0  Ht  Ht  d

30

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Y. Kang et al. / International Journal of Engineering Science 40 (2002) 22032221

Substituting Eq. (30) to Eqs. (19) and (20), we get


ur; t

1
2ja2 X
J0 knr expk2n t  d  Ht  d  expk2nt
Cn 2
Ws n1
J1 kn
k2n

31

and

um t

1
4ja2 X
expk2n t  d  Ht  d  expk2nt
Cn
Ws n1
k3n J1 kn

32

The total volumetric net ow quantity from the electric eld is switched on to the termination of
the entire ow due to frictional stress can be determined from
 V d
Q

t0

4ja

um t dt d 
Ws

1
X
n1

Cn

1
k3n J1 kn

33

It is obvious that the total net ow quantity is proportional to the duration of time d (here
d l=qa2 d), during which the electric eld is applied.

3. Boltzmann distribution and electric double layer eld

In the following, we will rst present the validation of the Boltzmann distribution under the
EOF considered in the current study. As clearly shown in Eq. (1), it is through the electrical body
force term that the NavierStokes equation is coupled with the governing equation for the EDL
eld, which in turn is associated with ionic number concentration distribution, ni . Generally,
rigorous mathematical modelling of ion transport in the EDL region under an EOF generated by
sinusoidally alternating electric elds should take into account of unsteady eects. According to
the literature, the time scale related to electromigration in the EDL is of order 108 107 s [31];
this value is at least two orders smaller than the characteristic time associated with the evolution
of the EOF, which is of order 105 103 s [32]. In the present study, we concern the sinusoidally
alternating electric eld of the highest frequency as 500 KHz (see the discussion part), corresponding to a characteristic time of 2  106 s. Therefore, the transient eect of the EDL relaxation can safely be neglected, and the ionic concentration distribution ni r) in the
microchannel EOF follows the NernstPlanck equation [33], which in the absence of chemical
reactions takes the convective-diusion form
r  Di rni  r  V i  ni 0

34

where Di is the diusion coecient of the type-i ion and V i is the velocity of the type-i ion. Under
such a situation, the ion velocity, V i , can be decomposed into contributions from liquid hydrodynamic velocity, V , and a velocity, U i , due to electromigration (caused by the presence of the
electric eld). Then we can write

Y. Kang et al. / International Journal of Engineering Science 40 (2002) 22032221

V i V Ui

2211

35

The velocity, U i , is related to the electric forces exerting on the ions through the following
equation
F ei zi e0 E fi U i

36

where zi is the valence of the type-i ion, e is the elementary charge, and fi is the hydrodynamic
resistance coecient which can be determined from the StokesEinstein equation
fi

kT
Di

37

The local electric eld, E is assumed to be decoupled as the summation of the applied electric eld
and the EDL eld due to the charged channel wall, and thus E can be expressed as
E Etez  rw

38

where Et is the applied electric eld and exists only along the owing axial direction, ez . w is the
electrical potential of the EDL eld. Then from Eqs. (36)(38), we can readily obtain an expression for U i
U i Etez  rw

zi e0 Di
kT

39

Substituting Eqs. (35) and (39) into Eq. (34), and making use of continuity equation r  V 0, we
can show next
2

Di r ni r 


zi e0 Di ni
zi e0 Di
rw  V  rni 
Etrni  ez 0
kT
kT

40

When the microchannel EOF is fully developed, the components of uid velocity V satisfy
uz uz r; t and ur uh 0 in terms of cylindrical coordinates. Eq. (40) can reduce to
Di r2 ni r 

 

zi e0 Di ni
zi e0 Di
oni
rw  uz
Et
0
kt
kT
oz

41

Note that the ionic number concentration is time-independent and the ow is fully-developed,
implying no appreciable ionic concentration gradient is established along the ow direction, i.e.,
oni =oz 0. Then Eq. (41) becomes
2

Di r ni r 

zi e0 Di ni
rw
kT


0

42

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Y. Kang et al. / International Journal of Engineering Science 40 (2002) 22032221

We can readily solve Eq. (42), and obtain its solution, which is


zi e0 w
ni ni0 exp 
kT

43

Here ni0 is the ionic number concentration of the type-i ions in the bulk phase where w 0. Eq.
(43) is the well-known Boltzmann distribution. Therefore, it can be concluded that for a microchannel EOF in a fully developed condition, the equilibrium Boltzmann distribution is still valid if
the frequency of the external electric eld is not very high, (e.g., less than 1 MHz).
Consequently, the EDL potential distribution, wr within the capillary region can be described
by PoissonBoltzmann equation which, in polar coordinates, takes the non-dimensional form [1]



1 d
dWR
R
sinh WR
R dR
dR
Eq. (44) is subject to the following boundary conditions

dWR 
0
Wja Ws
dR R0

44

45

where R jr.
However, no exact solution to Eq. (44) is available because of non-linearity. In this work, we
follow Philip and Wooding [34] to approximate the hyperbolic sine function sinh W as
8 1
>
<  2 expW W < 1
1 6 W 6 1
sinh W  W
46
>
:1
expW
W>1
2
Such an analytical scheme was successfully used by Philip and Wooding [34] in their study
concerning the electrical potential distribution outside a charged cylindrical particle immersed in
an electrolyte. They found that the obtained potential prole diers only slightly from that by
using numerical integration of the complete PB equation.
Based on the analytical scheme given in Eq. (46), we envisage the entire cylindrical region as
comprising two hypothetical concentric regimes (L and H) so that at their junctions (i.e., R R ),
we have W 1 (see Fig. 1). Hence we propose to solve the following equations:
Low potential regime L 0 6 R 6 R



1 d
dWL R
47
R
WL R
R dR
dR
High potential regime H R 6 R 6 ja



1 d
dWH R
1
R
expWH R
R dR
dR
2

48

Y. Kang et al. / International Journal of Engineering Science 40 (2002) 22032221

2213

Fig. 1. Essential geometry of capillary cylinder for solving the PoissonBoltzmann equation with high zeta potentials.

subject to the coupling boundary conditions

WL R WH R 1


dWL R 
dWH R 

dR RR
dR RR

49a
49b

For the case of ja P 1, solutions of Eqs. (47) and (48) can be respectively expressed as
WL R

I0 R
I0 R

0 6 R 6 R

50

and
(
WH R ln
(
ln

C
p  R 

2
2
R cos B 12 C ln ja
C
p  

2
2
R cos A 12 C ln RR

)
)
R 6 R 6 ja

51

where
B cos

1

s
C
eWs ja2

52a

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Y. Kang et al. / International Journal of Engineering Science 40 (2002) 22032221

r
 
C
1 p
R
1
C ln
B
A cos
2
eR
2
ja

52b

I0 is the rst kind, zero-order modied Bessel function. C is the integration constant, determined
by


C 2

I1 R
R
I0 R

2

 eR2

53

4. Results and discussion

In calculations, NaCl is used as the electrolyte solution. At room temperature of T 298 K, the
electrolyte properties are dielectric constant er 80, viscosity l 0:90  103 kg/m s, and density
q 998 kg/m3 .
4.1. Potential prole
Fig. 2 shows the EDL potential proles in a cylindrical capillary for two dierent electrokinetic
diameters, ja with a xed zeta potential, Ws . For comparison, we also include the results obtained
from the DebyeH
uckel linear approximation and complete numerical method. To exclude the
eect of zeta potential on the magnitude of the EDL potential, we choose the arbitrary reference

Fig. 2. Comparison of the results for dimensionless EDL potential, wr=f0 versus dimensionless radius, r=a, obtained
from the DebyeH
uckel linear approximation, the analytical scheme proposed in this study, and the numerical integration of the complete PoissonBoltzmann equation in a cylindrical capillary for two cases: (i) ja 10, and (ii)
ja 25, with a xed dimensionless zeta potential, Ws 8.

Y. Kang et al. / International Journal of Engineering Science 40 (2002) 22032221

2215

potential, f0 . It is shown in Fig. 2 that the DebyeH

uckel linear assumption provides a good
approximation for a larger electrokinetic diameter. However, the linearized solution deviates from
the complete PoissonBoltzmann equation for a smaller electrokinetic diameter, i.e., a thicker
EDL corresponding to a dilute electrolyte or smaller capillary. Furthermore, it is noted from Fig.
2 that the dierence between the analytical scheme used in the present study and the numerical
solution of the PoissonBoltzmann equation is visually indistinguishable, suggest an excellent
approximation estimated by Eq. (46).
4.2. Transient velocity prole
Time evolution of the EOF eld in cylindrical capillaries under a constant electric eld is shown
in Fig. 3a and b. Here the reference velocity is chosen as us0 er e0 =lE0 kT =e0 so that the zeta

Fig. 3. Dimensionless transient velocity, ur=us0 versus dimensionless radius, r=a. The reference velocity is dened as
us0 er e0 =lE0 kT =e0 . (a) Time evolution for the case of thick EDL with the electrokinetic diameter, ja 10. (b)
Time evolution for the case of thin EDL with the electrokinetic diameter, ja 100. (c) Time devolution with xed the
electrokinetic diameter, ja 32:57 and the zeta potential, Ws 4. In this case, the reference velocity is chosen as
us0 er e0 =lE0 f0 .

2216

Y. Kang et al. / International Journal of Engineering Science 40 (2002) 22032221

potential eect can be shown. According to the results displayed in Fig. 3a and b, we can observe
that upon the application of an electric eld, the ow is activated in a region adjacent to the
channel wall and the velocity increases rapidly from zero on the wall to a maximum within the
EDL where the driving force is present. As the time goes, the ow gradually extends to the rest
portion of the channel due to hydrodynamic stresses originated from liquid viscosity. When the
ow in entire channel becomes steady, the ow velocity across the channel other than the EDL
region remains almost a constant value, resembling a plug ow. Furthermore, we can estimate the
characteristic time scale for the EOF to reach its steady state from Eq. (28) by choosing
k21t k21 l=qa2 t 1. Then we can obtain t qa2 =lk21 , where k1 2:405 determined from
J0 kn 0; this shows that the characteristic time, t is proportional to the square of the channel
radius, a2 . In addition, it is noted that the velocity increases with the increasing zeta potential,
indicating an almost linear relationship between the velocity and the zeta potential.
As a comparison, when the electric eld is switched o the time devolution of the EOF is shown
in Fig. 3c. It can be seen that the ow decays following a parabolic trend, and is similar to the
well-known Stokes rst problem, i.e., a streaming ow over a suddenly stopped plate, which was
discussed in length by Telionis [30]. However, such a similarity is not coincidence. As pointed out
earlier, the EOF is activated inside the EDL, which can be considered as the moving plate in the
Stokes rst problem. Once the driving force is removedthe moving plate is suddenly stopped
and the external electric eld is turned o, the mechanism governing uid ow is the same, i.e.,
hydrodynamic frictional stresses due to liquid viscosity.
4.3. AC perturbation
For a capillary of a 10 lm in radius, we can estimate the characteristic time for the EOF to
reach a steady state is t qa2 =lk21 19:2 ls. The corresponding eigenfrequency of the system is
f  1=t lk21 =qa2 52:25 kHz. Hence, three dierent characteristic frequencies of the external
electric eld, 0:1f  , f  and 10f  f x=2p are chosen to study the characteristic features of the
oscillating EOF.
The steadily oscillating velocity distributions are shown in Fig. 4ac for ve dierent characteristic moments: xt 0, p=4, p=2, 3p=4, p. It is obvious that the perturbed ow regime becomes
smaller with an increase in the frequency of the electric eld. This scenario can be logically anticipated because under very high frequencies, the electric eld changes its direction so fast that
the ow can never get developed across the entire channel. According to Eq. (24), the frequencydependent Stokes penetration depth, ds , representing a typical length scale of the oscillatory
laminar viscous ows in response to a harmonic external excitation [30], is inversely proportional
to the square root of the frequency, f . For example, at a very high frequency, e.g., f 10f  , the
perturbed area is restricted only in a small region near the channel wall, while the uid in the rest
of the channel remains zero velocity, as shown in Fig. 4c. In contrast, in Fig. 4a, at a very low
frequency, e.g., f 0:1f  , the ow is extended through the entire capillary.
Furthermore, it also should be noted that, in Fig. 4ac the magnitude of the maximum velocity
decreases as the frequency increases. This can be explained by further examination of the analytical solution derived in the previous section. When the oscillatory ow becomes steady, i.e.,
t ! 1, the exponential term in Eq. (22) decays, the value of the maximum velocity should be
bounded by

Y. Kang et al. / International Journal of Engineering Science 40 (2002) 22032221

2217

Fig. 4. Steadily oscillating velocity distributions along the dimensionless radius for three dierent aspect frequencies of
the external eld, 0:1f  ; f  and 10f  , with the electrokinetic diameter, ja 32:57, the zeta potential, Ws 4 and eigenfrequency, f  52:25 kHz. Snapshots are presented at ve dierent characteristic moments: xt 0, p=4, p=2, 3p=4,
p. Reference velocity is chosen as us er e0 =lE0 f0 . Comparison with the results obtained from slip velocity approximation represented by dashed curves. (a) Low frequency of the external eld, f 0:1f  . (b) The eigenfrequency of
the external eld, f f  . (c) High frequency of the external eld, f 10f  .
1
1
2ja2 X
J0 knr
1
2ja2 X
J0 knr 1
q 6

Cn 2
Cn 2
umax r
Ws n1
Ws n1
J1 kn k4 b4
J1 kn k2n
n

54

According to the denition of b given in Eq. (23), we can reasonably infer that the maximum
velocity 
umax increases as the frequency x decreases. The maximum velocity reaches its peak value
when the frequency of the electric eld is zero, i.e., b 0.
The slip velocity approximation used by S
oderman and J
onsson [23] and Santiago [24] is rooted
from an analogy to the Stokes second problem, i.e., the oscillating viscous ow induced by sinusoidally oscillating innite at plate [30]. To compare the slip velocity approximation with the
analytical method used in this work, we also present the results for the EOF eld under the slip

2218

Y. Kang et al. / International Journal of Engineering Science 40 (2002) 22032221

velocity approximation, represented by dashed curves in Fig. 4ac. Detailed derivation of the
electroosmotic velocity with the slip velocity approximation is provided in Appendix. It is demonstrated in Fig. 4ac that at the center region of the capillary, the two methods give nearly the
same results for transient velocity distributions, while adjacent to the charged channel wall the
discrepancy is observed. Such a discrepancy is due to the assumption of moving boundary condition used in the slip velocity approximation, in which the boundary velocity is assumed to be
proportional to the oscillating electric eld (refer to Eq. (A.2c)), while the boundary velocity is

Fig. 5. Dimensionless mean velocity versus time with xed the electrokinetic diameter, ja 32:57 and the zeta potential, Ws 4. Reference velocity is chosen as us er e0 =lE0 f0 . (a) Steadily oscillating mean velocity for three
dierent aspect frequencies of the external eld, 0:1f  , f  and 10f  , with the system eigenfrequency of f  52:25 kHz.
(b) Evolution and devolution of the mean velocity when the external eld is switched on for dierent duration of time d0t .

Y. Kang et al. / International Journal of Engineering Science 40 (2002) 22032221

2219

chosen as zero (i.e., no-slip condition) in the analytical scheme used in present study. The slip
velocity approximation neglects the velocity prole in the EDL region. Thus the analytical scheme
used in this work can present a more accurate and complete scenario for the oscillating EOF in the
microchannel.
In Fig. 5a, the time dependent mean velocity is plotted for two-cycle periods of the AC electric
eld. The ow can follow the sinusoidally oscillation of the electric eld, but there exists a phase
lag. The phase lag is larger as the frequency goes higher. For the same reason as the maximum
transient velocity, the magnitude of the maximum mean velocity is also dependent on the frequency.

um max

1
1
4ja2 X
1
1
4ja2 X
1
q 6
Cn
Cn 3
kn J1 kn k4 b4
Ws n1
Ws n1
kn J1 kn
n

55

Fig. 5b shows dependence of the mean EOF velocity on the time, during which the electric eld
is powered on. It is shown that the ow cannot reach its steady state until the time is larger than
the characteristic time. On the other hand, the ow decays exponentially after the electric eld is
switched o.
5. Conclusion
An analytical scheme is used to solve the PoissonBoltzmann equation for study of the
dynamics of EOF in a cylindrical microcapillary. The results show that the solution of the
PoissonBoltzmann equation based on the analytical scheme is virtually no dierent from
numerical solution. It is demonstrated that the geometry and zeta potential of the channel wall
have a strong impact on the EOF. The electrokinetic diameter determines the relative thickness of
the EDL while zeta potential determines the magnitude of the velocity, and hence the ow rate.
The characteristic time for the ow to reach its steady state is proportional to the square of the
channel radius. The evolution of the EOF upon application of a constant electric eld exhibits a
unique ow prole, which is resulted from the contributions due to the electric body force and
hydrodynamic viscous stress. On the other hand, the ow devolution after the external electric
eld is switched o follows a ow pattern solely controlled by hydrodynamic friction due to liquid
viscosity. In addition, it is found that the oscillating EOF is strongly dependent on the modulation
frequency of the applied sinusoidally alternating electric eld, which determines the thickness of
unstable Stokes layer, and thus governs the extent of the harmonic oscillation and the velocity
distributions of the oscillating EOF. The results obtained from this work not only can provide
insights into the EOF but also can furnish a guidance for the design and development of the AC
electrokinetic micromixers and micropumps.
Acknowledgement
YJK wishes to gratefully acknowledge the Ph.D. scholarship from Nanyang Technological
University.

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Y. Kang et al. / International Journal of Engineering Science 40 (2002) 22032221

Appendix A. Slip velocity approximation in AC perturbation

Conceptually, the steadily oscillating velocity prole induced by the application of a sinusoidally alternating electric eld is similar to the uid ow induced by an oscillating motion of the
channel wall; the latter was well documented by Telionis [30]. The basic concept of introducing the
slip velocity approximation is to neglect the thin EDL region such that the entire ow is motivated
by the frictional stresses originated from liquid viscosity. Here the thin EDL region can be regarded as an oscillating moving channel wall. The outer slip boundary velocity is determined by
the HelmholtzSmoluchowski equation, us t er e0 =lf0 E0 eixt . Hence the harmonically oscillating ow eld is governed by the NavierStokes equation, in non-dimensional form
!
o
u 1 o
o
u
r
A:1

ot r or
or
subject to the initial and boundary conditions (the reference velocity used in non-dimensionlization is chosen as us er e0 =lE0 f0 )
t 0


u0

A:2a

r 0

o
u
0
or

A:2b

r 1


u expib2t

A:2c

Solution to Eq. (A.1) can be readily obtained by using the classical method of separation of
variables, and it is given as
" p
#
I0 ibr
p

expib2t
A:3
ur; t REAL
I0 ib
where I0 is the zero-order modied Bessel function of the rst kind, and i is the unit imaginary
number. REAL denotes the real part of the solution.
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