Comments on the conditions for similitude in electroosmotic flows
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Updated: Jul 16, 2026

Generation and Control of Electrohydrodynamic Flows in Aqueous Electrolyte Solutions
Published on: September 7, 2018
1Mechanical Engineering Department, Stanford University, 440 Escondido Mall, Stanford, CA 94305-3030, USA. juan.santiago@stanford.edu <juan.santiago@stanford.edu>
Abstract:
This note provides a few comments on the conditions required for similitude between velocity and electric field in electroosmotic flows. The velocity fields of certain electroosmotic flows with relatively thin electric double layers (EDLs) are known to be irrotational in regions outside of the EDL. Under restricted conditions, the velocity field, V , can be expressed in terms of the electric field, E , as V =cE , where c is a scalar constant. The irrotationality solution is certainly unique and exact for Stokes flow, but may not be stable (or unique) for flows with Reynolds numbers significantly greater than unity.
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