Basic analysis of induced-charge electrophoresis using the boundary element method

Active control of fluids and particles by using induced-charge electrophoresis (ICEP) is important and promising. To analyze an ICEP flow in a microfluidic channel, we develop a calculation technique to model induced-charge electrophoresis using the boundary element method (BEM), and examine its validity. Using this method, we simulate a polarizable elliptical particle in a microfluidic channel in the presence of an electric field parallel to the flow channel, and find that a polarizable particle feels a strong repulsion force from the wall due to ICEP. Further, we find that two particles aligned in the direction of the electric field attract each other, while they repel each other when they are aligned perpendicular to the electric field. We believe that the presented method can largely contribute to develop a design tool for ICEP devices as a basic calculation method.