Advancements in electroosmotic mixing performance in a novel semi-circular micromixer design

In this study, a novel design of an alternating current (AC) electroosmotic micromixer with a semi-circular-shaped mixing chamber is proposed. By applying an unsteady electric field, the electroosmotic flow is shown to interfere with the pressure-driven flow, thereby enhancing the mixing process. The interaction between various nonlinear physical phenomena, namely AC electrokinetic, fluid flow, and species transport, is analyzed using finite-element-based software. Since attaining superior mixing quality is the ultimate desire, a comprehensive parametric study is conducted over a wide range of parameters, such as flowing fluid speed (U0), maximum voltage amplitude (V0) of AC, frequency (f) of the AC, and Debye parameter (k) for the optimized condition. In addition, we take care of the mixing cost, indicating the input power required to sustain the bulk flow. The numerical study revealed that the maximum mixing quality of 98.82% can be achieved by setting the optimized parameters. This work contributes to the understanding of AC electroosmotic micromixers and provides valuable recommendations for maximizing their effectiveness in microfluidic applications, including chemical analysis, biomedical diagnostics, and lab-on-a-chip technologies. By addressing both mixing quality and energy consumption, this study offers a balanced approach to optimizing microfluidic devices for a wide range of real-world applications.