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Updated: Jul 5, 2026

Fabrication, Operation and Flow Visualization in Surface-acoustic-wave-driven Acoustic-counterflow Microfluidics
Published on: August 27, 2013
Quantification of electrical field-induced flow reversal in a microchannel
C Pirat1, A Naso, E J van der Wouden
1Physics of Fluids Group, Department of Applied Physics, University of Twente, P.O. Box 217, 7500 AE, Enschede, The Netherlands.
Abstract:
We characterize the electroosmotic flow in a microchannel with field effect flow control. High resolution measurements of the flow velocity, performed by micro particle image velocimetry, evidence the flow reversal induced by a local modification of the surface charge due to the presence of the gate. The shape of the microchannel cross-section is accurately extracted from these measurements. Experimental velocity profiles show a quantitative agreement with numerical results accounting for this exact shape. Analytical predictions assuming a rectangular cross-section are found to give a reasonable estimate of the velocity far enough from the walls.
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