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Electrical actuation of dielectric droplets

N Kumari, V Bahadur and S V Garimella

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Electrical actuation of liquid droplets at the microscale offers promising applications in the fields of microfluidics and lab-on-a-chip devices. Much prior research has targeted the electrical actuation of electrically conducting liquid droplets; however, the actuation of dielectric droplets has remained relatively unexplored, despite the advantages associated with the use of a dielectric droplet. This paper presents modeling and experimental results on the electrical actuation of dielectric droplets between two flat plates. A first-order analytical model, based on the energy-minimization principle, is developed to estimate the electrical actuation force on a dielectric droplet as it moves between two flat plates. Two versions of this analytical model are benchmarked for their suitability and accuracy against a detailed numerical model. The actuation force prediction is then combined with available semi-analytical expressions for predicting the forces opposing droplet motion to develop a model that predicts transient droplet motion under electrical actuation. Electrical actuation of dielectric droplets is experimentally demonstrated by moving transformer oil droplets between two flat plates under the influence of an actuation voltage. Droplet velocities and their dependence on the plate spacing and the applied voltage are experimentally measured and showed reasonable agreement with predictions from the models developed.


PACS

47.55.D- Drops and bubbles

68.08.Bc Wetting

77.22.Ch Permittivity (dielectric function)

47.85.Np Fluidics

85.85.+j Micro- and nano-electromechanical systems (MEMS/NEMS) and devices

85.50.-n Dielectric, ferroelectric, and piezoelectric devices

Subjects

Soft matter, liquids and polymers

Fluid dynamics

Electronics and devices

Condensed matter: electrical, magnetic and optical

Surfaces, interfaces and thin films

Nanoscale science and low-D systems

Dates

Issue 8 (August 2008)

Received 29 February 2008, in final form 9 June 2008

Published 24 July 2008



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