Numerical analysis of non Newtonian fluid flow in a low voltage cascade electroosmotic micropump

In microfluidic devices, many fluids have non-Newtonian behaviors, especially biofluids. The viscosity of these fluids mostly depends on the shear rate. Sometimes the non-Newtonian fluids should be transferred by micropumps in lab-on-chip devices. Previous researchers investigated the flow rate in simple electroosmotic flow micropumps which have a simple channel geometry. In the present study, the effects of non-Newtonian properties of fluid in a low voltage cascade electroosmotic micropump are numerically investigated using the power law model. The micropump is modeled in two dimensional with one symmetric step and has a more complex geometry than previous studies. The numerical results show that, the non-Newtonian behavior of fluid affects flow rate in the micropump. The flow rate decreases if the fluid is dilatant. Also, it increases if the fluid is pseudoplastic. Moreover, the pressure which is needed to stop the electroosmotic flow rate in the micropump is calculated. Results show that, the back pressure has a slight change as the fluid has non-Newtonian behavior.