Electro-osmotic flow of generalized Maxwell fluids in triangular microchannels based on distributed order time fractional constitutive model

Abstract

Based on the linearized Poisson–Boltzmann equation, the electro-osmotic flow of a generalized Maxwell fluid under an alternating field in an isosceles right triangle microchannel is studied. The finite volume method and L2 interpolation method are used to obtain the numerical solution. An analytical solution is constructed to verify the accuracy of the numerical solution. Under the alternating current, the velocity will oscillate periodically. The velocity amplitude of the Maxwell fluid with the distributed order time fractional derivative is larger than that of Newtonian fluids and fractional Maxwell fluids, which indicates that its elastic characteristics further promote fluid flow. However, oscillation of the velocity does not achieve synchronization with the oscillation of the electric fields. Furthermore, due to the existence of the angle effect, the velocity will develop at acute angles and form a larger value of velocity first. The numerical results show that the relaxation time, electrokinetic width, zeta potential, and angular Reynolds number play important roles in determining the velocity and amplitude of electro-osmosis.