Long-range electrothermal fluid motion in microfluidic systems

•We report long-range fluid motion induced by ACEF, which creates centimeter-scale vortices.•Microfluidic channels with characteristic lengths from 100μm to 1mm are designed to investigate the temperature and velocity profiles.•Using the combined experiment and computation approach, we elucidate the effects of buoyancy, convective heat transfer, boundary conditions, and temperature-dependent parameters on the long-range electrothermal fluid motion. AC electrothermal flow (ACEF) is the fluid motion created as a result of Joule heating induced temperature gradients. ACEF is capable of performing major microfluidic operations, such as pumping, mixing, concentration, separation and assay enhancement, and is effective in biological samples with a wide range of electrical conductivity. Here, we report long-range fluid motion induced by ACEF, which creates centimeter-scale vortices. The long-range fluid motion displays a strong voltage dependence and is suppressed in microchannels with a characteristic length below ∼300μm. An extended computational model of ACEF, which considers the effects of the density gradient and temperature-dependent parameters, is developed and compared experimentally by particle image velocimetry. The model captures the essence of ACEF in a wide range of channel dimensions and operating conditions. The combined experimental and computational study reveals the essential roles of buoyancy, temperature rise, and associated changes in material properties in the formation of the long-range fluid motion. Our results provide critical information for the design and modeling of ACEF based microfluidic systems toward various bioanalytical applications.