Combined Effects of EDL and Boundary Slip on the Stability of Liquid-Liquid Viscosity-Stratified Flow in Microchannels

AbstractThe stability of pressure-driven liquid-liquid viscosity-stratified microchannel flow is investigated by considering the combined effects of electrical double layer (EDL) and boundary slip. The electrical streaming currents determined by the Streaming Electrical Current Balance (ECB) and the boundary slip are considered by Navier slip assumption. The stability of flow is studied by the small disturbance theory. Numerical results indicate that the effect of boundary slip on the flow stability is strongly depended on the EDL. The boundary slip stables the flow when EDL effect is weak and destabilizes the flow when EDL effect is strong. The effects of boundary slip and EDL on flow stability is also determined by viscosity ratio, the height of channel, interface position and conductivity ratio.