Controllable Flowing of a Dielectric Fluid Droplet under the Action of Corona Discharge

Abstract

Polymer microfluidic technology is widely used in chemistry, biology, medicine, nanoparticles synthesis, and other fields. In this article, we introduce a novel method for the controllable flowing of dielectric fluid droplets. Under the action of corona discharge, the dielectric fluid droplet can be controllably driven to one or more conductive plate electrodes that are connected to the negative electrode on the substrate. Phenomena of polymerization, migration, and separation and merger are experimentally verified in detail, and the spreading speeds and steady-state time are discussed. The experimental results show that the proposed method is accurate and controllable.

Working Regime Criteria for Microscale Electrohydrodynamic Conduction Pumps

“…Electrohydrodynamic (EHD) pumps offer distinct advantages over traditional pumps as a fluid control method. − They feature a simple structure, lack moving parts, produce low noise, and enable rapid and precise control through electric fields . These inherent advantages have led to the widespread utilization of EHD pumps in various fields, including flow distribution control, − electrospinning, and electrostatic printing, − heat transfer enhancement, − and robot driving. − EHD pumps are devices that utilize an electric force to induce the movement of fluid.…”