Thermally induced velocity gradients in electroosmotic microchannel flows: the cooling influence of optical infrastructure

Abstract

An axially non-uniform temperature distribution is shown to induce a disturbance to the electroosmotic flow field in microchannels, causing a significant deviation from the ideal plug-like velocity profile. Such axial temperature gradients are shown to be induced passively by the increased dissipation of Joule heat through the optical infrastructure of a viewing window. A combination of caged-dye-based molecular tagging velocimetry (to determine the cross-stream velocity profiles), fluorescence-based thermometry (to determine the in-channel fluid temperatures), and electrical current measurements are employed. The temperature visualization experiments demonstrate that the fluid is locally cooled in the viewed region, resulting in a local increase in the electric field strength. When large fields are applied, measurements indicate that the fluid’s temperature in the viewed region can be as much as 30°C less than in the remainder of the capillary. Despite an increase in viscosity, this local cooling results in a locally increased electroosmotic wall velocity which induces a concave velocity profile in the viewed portion and a convex velocity profile elsewhere. Experimentally determined profiles exhibit a variation in velocity across the channel of up to 5%. The cause of this velocity profile curvature is confirmed by comparing the velocity profiles obtained at a range of fields to an analytical solution that includes the effects of temperature on the liquid conductivity and viscosity.