ELECTROOSMOTIC FLOW IN TREE-LIKE BRANCHING MICROCHANNEL NETWORK
Abstract
As a kind of microchannel layout with good transport performance, tree-like branching microchannel network has been widely used for microfluidic systems, however, the optimal analysis of the tree-like branching microchannel network for electroosmotic flow (EOF) to reach a minimized fluidic resistance still needs a deep study. In this work, the EOF in tree-like branching microchannel network is theoretically and numerically studied. It is found that there is an optimal structure of the tree-like branching network for the EOF to achieve a minimum fluidic resistance under the size constraint of constant total channel volume. This work found that the optimal channel radii of the tree-like network for EOF to reach a minimum fluidic resistance satisfy the relationship of r2k=∑Ni=1r2k+1,i, where rk is the radius of the parent channel, rk+1,i is the radius of the child channels and N is the total number of child channels. This formula can be regarded as an extended Murray’s law for EOF and is helpful for the optimization design of tree-like branching microchannel network for EOF to reach maximum transport efficiency under the constant applied driven voltage.
