Papers by Author: Federico Méndez

Abstract: The oscillatory electroosmotic flow (OEOF) under the influence of the Navier slip condition in power law fluids through a microchannel is studied numerically. A time-dependent external electric field (AC) is suddenly imposed at the ends of the microchannel which induces the fluid motion. The continuity and momentum equations in the and direction for the flow field were simplified in the limit of the lubrication approximation theory (LAT), and then solved using a numerical scheme. The solution of the electric potential is based on the Debye-Hückel approximation which suggest that the surface potential is small, say, smaller than 0:025V and for a symmetric () electrolyte. Our results suggest that the velocity profiles across the channel-width are controlled by the following dimensionless parameters: the dimensionless slip length , the Womersley number, , the electrokinetic parameter, , defined as the ratio of the characteristic length scale to the Debye length, the parameter which represents the ratio of the Helmholtz-Smoluchowski velocity to the characteristic length scale and the flow behavior index, . Also, the results reveal that the velocity magnitude gets higher values as increases and become more and more nonuniform across the channel-width as the and are increased, so OEOF can be useful in micro-fluidic devices such as micro-mixers.

Abstract: Asymptotic solution for the shear stress distributions and velocity profiles of steady electroosmotic (EO) and magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) flows are obtained in a parallel flat plate microchannel. A fully-developed flow is considered and the fluid obeys a constitutive relation based in a simplified Phan-Thien-Tanner model. The effect of the following dimensionless parameters on the fluid flow control is predicted: the viscoelastic parameter and the Hartmann number. The momentum equation, boundary conditions and the constitutive rheological model are combined to formulating a nonlinear differential equation to solve the shear stress, which is expanded in a regular expansion series in powers of small Hartmann numbers. This limit of small Hartmann numbers and low electrical conductivity in the buffer solution correspond to the range where the electric and magnetic effects can be used to move a charged solution in the flow control and sample handling in biomedical and chemical analysis.

Abstract: In this work, we have theoretically analyzed the heat convection process in a porous medium under the influence of spontaneous wicking of a non-Newtonian power-law fluid, trapped in a capillary element, considering the presence of a temperature gradient. The capillary element is represented by a porous medium which is initially found at temperature and pressure . Suddenly the lower part of the porous medium touches a reservoir with a non-Newtonian fluid with temperature and pressure . This contact between both phases, in turn causes spontaneously the wicking process. Using a one-dimensional formulation of the average conservation laws, we derive the corresponding nondimensional momentum and energy equations. The numerical solutions permit us to evaluate the position and velocity of the imbibitions front as well as the dimensionless temperature profiles and Nusselt number. The above results are shown by considering the physical influence of two nondimensional parameters: the ratio of the characteristic thermal time to the characteristic wicking time, , the ratio of the hydrostatic head of the imbibed fluid to the characteristic pressure difference between the wicking front and the dry zone of the porous medium, , and the power-law index, n, for the non-Newtonian fluid. The predictions show that the wicking and heat transfer process are strongly dependent on the above nondimensional parameters, indicating a clear deviation in comparison with and n = 1, that represents the classical Lucas-Washburn solution.