Effect of charge mobility on dielectric liquid flow driven by EHD conduction phenomenon

Electrohydrodynamic (EHD) conduction phenomenon takes advantage of the electrical Coulomb force exerted on a dielectric liquid generated by externally applied electric field and dissociated charges from electrolytes. EHD conduction generated flow relies primarily upon the asymmetry of the electrodes where the flow is always directed toward the broken symmetry regardless of the electrodes polarity. This paper studies the effects of unequal positive and negative charge mobilities on the heterocharge layer structure and generated flow with symmetric and asymmetric electrode designs. The numerical simulations are conducted for a 2-D rectangular channel with the electrodes embedded against the channel wall. •Effect of unequal mobilities of charge carriers on the performance of EHD conduction pumping was investigated.•Net flow was observed for the case of symmetric electrodes and unequal mobilities.•Net flow generated in case of asymmetric electrodes was impacted by unequal mobilities.