Measurement of flow in a microfluidic channel in response to application of voltage

This thesis explores two methods of calculating the flow of Electrorheological fluid in a microfluidic channel in response to a gradient in an electric field: MATLAB simulation and microscopy experiments. Electrorheological fluid, which is composed of particles suspended in a liquid, has the property of changing its viscosity under the application of an electric field. The particles become polarized in an electric field, aligning themselves with a force that is proportional to the gradient of the electric field. The drag force equally opposes the dipole force and can entrain fluid and force it to move along the length of a channel. The dipole force was estimated using a MATLAB simulation, and the drag force was calculated via experiments which used Electrorheological fluid in a channel lined with electrodes. Although the two methods did not correlate in magnitude, they did agree in terms of general behavior, and net motion of fluid in a channel was achieved.

Department dc:contributor.department

Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Department of Mechanical Engineering.

Grantor dc:publisher

Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Year dc:date.issued

2014

Author dc:creator

• Soukup, Elizabeth A

Advisor dc:contributor.advisor

• José Alvarado.

• Mechanical Engineering.

Statement dc:rights

• M.I.T. theses are protected by copyright. They may be viewed from this source for any purpose, but reproduction or distribution in any format is prohibited without written permission. See provided URL for inquiries about permission.

Licence dc:rights.uri

• http://dspace.mit.edu/handle/1721.1/7582

Language dc:language.iso

eng

Handle dc:identifier.uri

http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/92208

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:dspace.mit.edu:1721.1/92208