Electro-osmotic peristaltic flow and heat transfer in an ionic viscoelastic fluid through a curved micro-channel with viscous dissipation

Emerging systems in microfluidics are embracing bio-inspired designs in which boundaries are flexible and mimic peristaltic propulsion mechanisms encountered in nature. These devices utilize electro-kinetic body forces to manipulate very precisely ionic biofluids for a range of medical applications including. Motivated by exploring in more detail electro-hemorheological micro-pumping, in the current article, a mathematical model is developed for peristalsis propulsion of a viscoelastic biofluid in a curved microchannel with electro-osmotic effect and thermal transport under static axial electrical field and with viscous heating. The third grade Reiner-Rivlin model is deployed for blood rheology. The novelty of the current work is therefore the simultaneous consideration of electrokinetics, viscoelastic behavior with the third grade Reiner-Rivlin model and coupled flow and heat transport with viscous dissipation in peristaltic pumping in a curved micro-channel. A Poisson-Boltzmann formulation is adopted to simulate the charge number density associated with the electrical potential. Asymmetric zeta potential (25 mV) is prescribed and mobilizes an electric double layer (EDL). The governing conservation equations for mass, energy, momentum and electrical potential with associated boundary conditions are simplified using lubrication approximations and rendered dimensionless via appropriate scaling transformations. Analytical solutions are derived in the form of Bessel functions and numerical evaluations are conducted via the ND solver command in MATHEMATICA symbolic software. The simulations show that with stronger viscoelastic effect, boluses are eliminated and there is relaxation in streamlines in the core and peripheral regions of the micro-channel. Increasing Brinkman number (dissipation parameter) elevates temperatures. An increase in electrical double layer thickness initially produces a contraction in the upper bolus and an expansion (lateral) in the lower bolus in the micro-channel. With modification in zeta potential ratio parameter from positive to negative values, in the lower half of the micro-channel, axial flow deceleration is generated.