Electrokinetically modulated peristaltic transport of power-law fluids

• Influence of applied electric field on the peristaltic flow of bio-fluid is studied.
• Cell-depleted region near wall is accounted for with a two-layer fluid model.
• At low tube occlusion, electroosmosis dictates the zero-flow pressure rise.
• Fluid rheology and applied electric field influence bolus trapping and reflux.
• Proposed model may be utilized for improved design of bio-implantable devices.

The electrokinetically modulated peristaltic transport of power-law fluids through a narrow confinement in the form of a deformable tube is investigated. The fluid is considered to be divided into two regions — a non-Newtonian core region (described by the power-law behavior) which is surrounded by a thin wall-adhering layer of Newtonian fluid. This division mimics the occurrence of a wall-adjacent cell-free skimming layer in blood samples typically handled in microfluidic transport. The pumping characteristics and the trapping of the fluid bolus are studied by considering the effect of fluid viscosities, power-law index and electroosmosis. It is found that the zero-flow pressure rise is strongly dependent on the relative viscosity ratio of the near-wall depleted fluid and the core fluid as well as on the power-law index. The effect of electroosmosis on the pressure rise is strongly manifested at lower occlusion values, thereby indicating its importance in transport modulation for weakly peristaltic flow. It is also established that the phenomenon of trapping may be controlled on-the-fly by tuning the magnitude of the electric field: the trapping vanishes as the magnitude of the electric field is increased. Similarly, the phenomenon of reflux is shown to disappear due to the action of the applied electric field. These findings may be applied for the modulation of pumping in bio-physical environments by means of external electric fields.