Unsteady electroosmotic flow of power-law fluid in a rectangular microchannel

This paper studies the unsteady electroosmotic flow of the power-law fluid in a rectangular microchannal. The electric potential distribution is given by linearized Poisson–Boltzmann equation. By using finite difference method, we solved Cauchy momentum equation and obtained the velocity profile of the power-law fluid. The influences of the flow behavior index and the ratio of the width of the rectangular microchannel to the double layer thickness on the velocity profiles are investigated. In addition, the evolution of the velocity profiles with the time is analyzed.

► Dynamic solution is given for EOF of power-law fluid in a rectangular microchannel.
► Numerical solution by finite difference method.
► EOF profile depends on the flow index and the ratio of channel width to Debye length.