Tada S., Shen Y., Qiu Z.Y.
The City College of New York, US
Keywords: dielectrophoresis, MD simulation, non-uniform cluster growth, particle cluster
Numerical simulation is performed of motion and cluster formation of particles in a flowing suspension of particles in corn oil through a 60x120x3.0mm chamber with a spatially periodical electrode array. The chamber is rotated to prevent heavy particles from settling. The suspension flows along the electrode and the electric field is assumed to be two-dimensional. The Langevin equation is used to describe Newtonian dynamics of the suspension under combined electric and flow fields. Considered forces on a particle include the non-zero time-average Coulomb interactions with all the other polarized particles, non-zero time-average dielectrophoretic force from gradient AC electric fields, Stokes’ drag force, Brownian force and rotation-dependent gravitation. A fully developed laminar flow is assumed. A periodic boundary condition is applied. ‘Natural minimum unit’ of 7.2×3.6×3.0mm is chosen for simulations. Particles trajectories are calculated from converged electric field. The simulations on our cluster of 64CPUs have reproduced most of our published experimental data about particle motion and clustering under electric field when liquid flows or does not, and also provide more details about interactions of electrostatics and hydrodynamics and their effects on clustering. This is the first report to simulate the transient of cluster growth in electrically and hydrodynamically non-uniform environments.
Journal: TechConnect Briefs
Volume: 3, Nanotechnology 2008: Microsystems, Photonics, Sensors, Fluidics, Modeling, and Simulation – Technical Proceedings of the 2008 NSTI Nanotechnology Conference and Trade Show, Volume 3
Published: June 1, 2008
Pages: 390 - 393
Industry sectors: Medical & Biotech | Sensors, MEMS, Electronics
Topic: Micro & Bio Fluidics, Lab-on-Chip
ISBN: 978-1-4200-8505-1