A New Method of Combination of Electroosmosis, Vacuum and Surcharge Preloading for Soft Ground Improvement

As a rapid and effective ground improvement method is urgently required for the booming land reclamation in China＇s coastal area, this study proposes a new combined method of electroosmosis, vacuum preloading and surcharge preloading. A new type of electrical prefabricated vertical drain （ePVD） and a new electroosmotic drainage system are suggested to allow the application of the new method. This combined method is then field-tested and compared with the conventional vacuum combined with surcharge preloading method. The monitoring and foundation test results show that the new method induces a settlement 20% larger than that of the conventional vacuum combined with surcharge preloading method in the same treatment period, and saves approximately half of the treatment time compared with the vacuum combined with surcharge preloading method according to the finite element prediction of the settlement. The proposed method also increases the vane shear strength of the soil significantly. The bearing capacity of the ground improved by use of the new proposed method raises 118%. In comparison, there is only a 75% rise when using the vacuum combined with surcharge preloading method during the same reinforcement period. All results indicate that the proposed combined method is effective and suitable for reinforcing the soft clay ground. Besides, the voltage applied between the anode and cathode increases exponentially versus treatment time when the output current of power supplies is kept constant. Most of the voltage potential in electroosmosis is lost at electrodes, leaving smaller than 50% of the voltage to be effectively transmitted into the soil.

A Mathematical Model for EstimatingElectroosmosis Effect on Water Displacing Oil Process in Porous Media and Its Application

A mathematical model based on Darcy's law and electroosmosis equation in porous media is developed and two parameters named electroosmosis coefficient K, and relative electroosmosis coefficient Kre are used to calculate the curves of Ke and Krevs. water saturation whick are employed to estimate the effect of electroosmosis on water displacing oil process in sandstone cores. Under the conditions of constant injection rate displacement and constant electrical potential gradient, the method to calculate parameters K. and K. at different water saturation is developed and unsteadystate displacement experin.ental data under the effect of electroosmosis are used to determine the Parameter values. The results show that K, and K, are increased firstly with increasing water saturation and then decreased. This trend shows the inter-relationship between electroosmosis and the water displacing oil process. Finally, application of the model to ECMP mechauics studies and ac-tual reservoirs is analyzed in this peper.

Microscopic mechanism of periodical electroosmosis in reservoir rocks

Based on the electric double layer （EDL） theory and the momentum equation governing the electroosmosis flow, this paper presents an analytical solution to the peri- odical electroosmosis with a parallel straight capillary bundle model of reservoir rocks to reveal the microscopic mechanism of the electroosmotic flows in rocks. The theory shows that both the frequency dispersion characteristics of the ma^roscQpic electroosmotic Darcy velocity in unsealed rocks and the electroosmotic pressure coefficient in sealed rocks de- pend on the porosity and electrochemical properties of reservoir rocks. The mathematical simulation indicates that the distribution of the periodical electroosmotic velocity is wave- like in the rock pore. The greater the porosity is, the greater electroosmotic the Darcy velocity and the smaller electroosmotic pressure coefficient are generated. The module values of the electroosmotic Darcy velocity and the electroosmotic pressure coefficient increase with the decreasing solution concentration or the increasing cation exchange ca- pacity without affecting the phase of the electroosmotic Darcy velocity.

RESEARCH ON DIFFUSION IN MICRO-CHANNEL FLOW DRIVEN BY ELECTROOSMOSIS

Numerical simulation using the finite differential method was carried out to analyze the diffusion of an impulse sample in the micro-channel driven by electroosmosis. The results show that the electrical field strength applied externally and the concentration of buffer solution play a significant role in the diffusion of sample, however, hydraulic diameter and aspect ratio of height to width of channel play a small role in it. Weakening the electrical field strength applied externally and the concentration of buffer solution properly can prevent the sample band from broadening effectively, and promote the efficiency of testing and separation as well as keep a faster speed of transport. The conclusions are helpful to the optimal design for micro-channel.

Joule heating effect of electroosmosis in a finite-length microchannel made of different materials

This paper presents a numerical analysis of Joule heating effect of electroosmo- sis in a finite-length microchannel made of the glass and polydimethylsiloxane （PDMS） polymer. The Poisson-Boltzmann equation of electric double layer, the Navier-Stokes equation of liquid flow, and the liquid-solid coupled heat transfer equation are solved to investigate temperature behaviors of electroosmosis in a two-dimensional microchannel. The feedback effect of temperature variation on liquid properties （dielectric constant, vis- cosity, and thermal and electric conductivities） is taken into account. Numerical results indicate that there exists a heat developing length near the channel inlet where the flow velocity, temperature, pressure, and electric field rapidly vary and then approach to a steady state after the heat developing length, which may occupy a considerable portion of the microchannel in cases of thick chip and high electric field. The liquid temperature of steady state increases with the increase of the applied electric field, channel width, and chip thickness. The temperature on a PDMS wall is higher than that on a glass wall due to the difference of heat conductivities of materials. Temperature variations are found in the both longitudinal and transverse directions of the microchannel. The increase of the temperature on the wall decreases the charge density of the electric double layer. The longitudinal temperature variation induces a pressure gradient and changes the behavior of the electric field in the microchannel. The inflow liquid temperature does not change the liquid temperature of steady state and the heat developing length.

Influence of Water Boundary Conditions on Pore Pressure and Improvement Effect in Electroosmosis

The influence of water boundary conditions on pore pressure was studied by one-dimensional electroosmotic consolidation test, and the effects of electroosmosis, pore water pressure,settlement and electroosmotic flow were monitored and analyzed.The results show that the boundary conditions of electroosmotic water have a significant effect on the pore water pressure and improving effect. Negative pore water pressure without auxiliary water is far greater than the replenishment. The measured data show that improvements in experiments without replenishment are also better. The calculation of Esrig solution of the pore water pressure is consistent with the measurement data in the watersupplementing test and is very different from the measurement data in the test without rehydration. Considering the impact of water boundary conditions is the key to electroosmosis experiments and applications.

Capillary electroosmosis properties of water lubricants with different electroosmotic additives under a steel-on-steel sliding interface

The process of lubricant penetration into frictional interfaces has not been fully established,hence compromising their tribological performance.In this study,the penetration characteristics of deionized water(DI water)containing an electroosmotic suppressant(cetyltrimethylammonium bromide(CTAB))and an electroosmotic promoter(sodium lauriminodipropionate(SLI)),were investigated using steel-onsteel friction pairs.The results indicated that the lubricant with electroosmotic promoter reduced the coefficient of friction and wear scar diameter,whereas that with an electroosmotic suppressant exhibited an opposite behavior compared with DI water.The addition of SLI promoted the penetration of the DI water solution,thus resulting in the formation of a thick lubricating film of iron oxide at the sliding surface.This effectively reduced the abrasion damage,leading to a lower coefficient of friction and wear loss.

Vacuum preloading combined electroosmotic strengthening of ultra-soft soil

To assess the effectiveness of vacuum preloading combined electroosmotic strengthening of ultra-soft soil and study the mechanism of the process, a comprehensive experimental investigation was performed. A laboratory test cell was designed and applied to evaluate the vacuum preloading combined electroosmosis. Several factors were taken into consideration, including the directions of the electroosmotic current and water induced by vacuum preloading and the replenishment of groundwater from the surrounding area. The results indicate that electroosmosis together with vacuum preloading improve the soil strength greatly, with an increase of approximately 60%, and reduce the water content of the soil on the basis of consolidation of vacuum preloading, howeve~ further settlement is not obvious with only 1.7 mm. The reinforcement effect of vacuum preloading combined electroosmosis is better than that of electroosmosis after vacuum preloading. Elemental analysis using X-ray fluorescence proves that the soil strengthening during electroosmotic period in this work is mainly caused by electroosmosis-induced electrochemical reactions, the concentrations of Al2O3 in the VPCEO region increase by 2.2%, 1.5%, and 0.9% at the anode, the midpoint between the electrodes, and the cathode, respectively.

The Concept of Electroosmotically Driven Flow and Its Application to Biomimetics

The concept of electroosmotically driven flow is built around understanding how the ionized particles or fluid are driven to flow by electroosmosis forces. Apart from the major applications of this concept to micro flow control elements which have been explored in parallel with the rapid developments in micro fabrication technologies, the present focus is on its application to biomimetics. As soil animals (in fact all living creatures) such as earthworms and dung beetles carry bioelectricity, the relative movement between the creatures and the surrounding soil which is a multi-component medium with moist content will generate electrophoresis or electroosmosis forces. Such forces drive the ionized moist content, normally water, to migrate from positive to negative poles under the action of electric double layer (EDL) effect, and effectively reduce the adhesion or drag.Predicting the electroosmotically driven flow in the vicinity of biological and animal surfaces is a key problem of drag/adhesion reduction and biomimetics design. The aim of this article is to demonstrate how the theory of electroosmotically driven flow has developed and to describe its broader significance for anti adhesion of soil animals and biomimetics design of soil machinery tools.

Study on the mixing of fluid in curved microchannels with heterogeneous surface potentials

In this paper the mixing of a sample in the curved microchannel with heterogeneous surface potentials is analysed numerically by using the control-volume-based finite difference method. The rigorous models for describing the wall potential and external potential are solved to get the distribution of wall potential and external potential, then momentum equation is solved to get the fully developed flow field. Finally the mass transport equation is solved to get the concentration field. The results show that the curved microchannel has an optimized capability of sample mixing and transport when the heterogeneous surface is located at the left conjunction between the curved part and straight part. The variation of heterogeneous surface potential ψn has more influence on the capability of sample mixing than on that of sample transport. The ratio of the curved microchanners radius to width has a comparable effect on the capability of sample mixing and transport. The conclusions above are helpful to the optimization of the design of microfluidic devices for the improvement of the efficiency of sample mixing.

Surfactant Enhanced Electrorenlediation of Phenanthrene

Removal of hydrophobic organic contaminants (HOCs) from soil of low permeability by electroremedia-tion was investigated by using phenanthrene and kaolinite as a model system. Tween 80 was added into the purging solution in order to enhance the solubility of phenanthrene. The effects of pH on the adsorption of phenanthrene and Tween 80 on kaolinite and the magnitude of -potential of kaolinite were examined, respectively. The effects of electric field strength indicated by electric current on the electroremediation behavior, including the pH of purging solution, the conductivity, phenanthrene concentration and flow rate of effluent, were experimentally investigated, respectively. In case of an electric field of 25 mA applied for 72 hours, over 90% of phenanthrene was removed from 424 g (dry mass) of kaolinite at an energy consumption of 0.148 kW-h. The experimental results described in present study show that the addition of surfactant into purging solution greatly enhances the removal of HOCs by electroremediation.

Effect of Curvature of Tip and Convexity of Electrode on Localization of Particles

We investigate the effect of curvature of the tip and the convexity of an electrode on the localization of suspended particles under the combined effect of dielectrophoresis and AC electroosmosis through simulations using COMSOL Multiphysics. A systematic analysis of the parameters defining the convexity of the electrode—the radius of the tip and the apex angle shows that suspended particles can be trapped closely to the electrode edges for comparatively larger tip radii and apex angles. This in turn should favour the trapping of polarizable molecules between the electrodes only if the fluid velocities at the vortices are not very strong.

Direct observation of λ-DNA molecule reversal movement within microfluidic channels under electric field with single molecule imaging technique

The electrodynamic characteristics of single DNA molecules moving within micro-/nano-fluidic channels are important in the design of biomedical chips and bimolecular sensors. In this study, the dynamic properties of λ-DNA molecules transferring along the microchannels driven by the external electrickinetic force were systemically investigated with the single molecule fluorescence imaging technique. The experimental results indicated that the velocity of DNA molecules was strictly dependent on the value of the applied electric field and the diameter of the channel. The larger the external electric field, the larger the velocity, and the more significant deformation of DNA molecules. More meaningfully, it was found that the moving directions of DNA molecules had two completely different directions：（i） along the direction of the external electric field, when the electric field intensity was smaller than a certain threshold value;（ii） opposite to the direction of the external electric field, when the electric field intensity was greater than the threshold electric field intensity.The reversal movement of DNA molecules was mainly determined by the competition between the electrophoresis force and the influence of electro-osmosis flow. These new findings will theoretically guide the practical application of fluidic channel sensors and lab-on-chips for precisely manipulating single DNA molecules.

The Electrokinetic Cross-Coupling Coefficient: Two-Scale Homogenization Approach

By the two-scale homogenization approach we justify a two-scale model of ion transport through a layered membrane, with flows being driven by a pressure gradient and an external electrical field. By up-scaling, the electroosmotic flow equations in horizontal thin slits separated by thin solid layers are approximated by a homogenized system of macroscale equations in the form of the Poisson equation for induced vertical electrical field and Onsager's reciprocity relations between global fluxes (hydrodynamic and electric) and forces (horizontal pressure gradient and external electrical field). In addition, the two-scale approach provides macroscopic mobility coefficients in the Onsager relations. On this way, the cross-coupling kinetic coefficient is obtained in a form which does involves the &#950 -potential among the data provided the surface current is negligible.

Applications of electrohydrodynamics and Joule heating effects in microfluidic chips:A review

This review article presents an overview on the application of electrohydrodynamics and Joule heating effects in microfluidic chips.A brief introduction of microfluidic chips and a classification of electrohydrodynamics as well as the applications in microfluidic devices are first given.Then basic theories and governing equations of classical electromagnetics are summarized and electroviscous effects in pressure driven flows in a microchannel are presented.Principles and applications of DC electrokinetics,including DC electroosmotic flow,DC electrophoresis,as well as principles of AC electrokinetics,including AC electroosmotic flow and dielectrophoresis are also reviewed.Finally,Joule heating effects in both DC and AC electrokinetics,especially the newly discovered electrothermal flow,are summaried.