Driving Performance of an SDBI Actuator on Silicone Oils Under AC Electric Fields

The non-toxicity, high temperature tolerance and voltage resistance of silicone oil make it a valuable electrical material. In electrohydrodynamic (EHD) pumps, the polarity-dependent properties of silicone jets promise a bright future in the field of eco-friendly microfluidics. Based on the previous exploration of the flow field characteristics of silicone fluids in surface dielectric barrier injection (SDBI) actuators, the present study addresses the velocity field data collected through the 2D-PIV technique, employing the momentum integration method to calculate the electric force of silicone wall jets under AC signals. The results demonstrate that the sign of the electric force varies with the signal polarity, and its magnitude accurately follows the signal waveform. The mean electric force increases quasi-linearly with voltage, and a signal with a voltage of 30 kV generates an electric force of about 2 mN/m to drive the silicone oil.