Shear Dynamics in Electrohydrodynamically Actuated Pulsatile Vascular-on-Chip Systems: A Numerical Study

Shear Dynamics in Electrohydrodynamically Actuated Pulsatile Vascular-on-Chip Systems: A Numerical Study | Research Square window.SnipcartSettings = { analytics: { enabled: false } }; (function() { var accessVector = localStorage.getItem('access_vector') || ''; window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || []; if (accessVector) { window.dataLayer.push({ user: { profile: { profileInfo: { snid: accessVector } } } }); } })(); (function(w,d,s,l,i){w[l]=w[l]||[];w[l].push({'gtm.start':new Date().getTime(),event:'gtm.js'});var f=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0],j=d.createElement(s),dl=l!='dataLayer'?'&l='+l:'';j.async=true;j.src='https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtm.js?id='+i+dl;f.parentNode.insertBefore(j,f);})(window,document,'script','dataLayer','GTM-K279D39R'); Browse Preprints In Review Journals COVID-19 Preprints AJE Video Bytes Research Tools Research Promotion AJE Professional Editing AJE Rubriq About Preprint Platform In Review Editorial Policies Our Team Advisory Board Help Center Sign In Submit a Preprint Cite Share Download PDF Research Article Shear Dynamics in Electrohydrodynamically Actuated Pulsatile Vascular-on-Chip Systems: A Numerical Study Vaitheeswaran Gnanaraj, Balamanikandan P, Balakrishnan Vellaikannan This is a preprint; it has not been peer reviewed by a journal. https://doi.org/ 10.21203/rs.3.rs-8589214/v1 This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 License Status: Posted Version 1 posted You are reading this latest preprint version Abstract Electrohydrodynamic (EHD) actuation offers a promising, valve-free approach for generating controllable flow in vascular-on-chip platforms. A reduced-order numerical framework is developed to investigate pulsatile microchannel flow (Re = 0.069, α = 0.100) subjected to combined pressure-driven forcing and EHD body forces. Machine-level validation against Hagen–Poiseuille solutions (L2 error = 4.15×10−18 m/s) and independent shooting-method cross-verification (WSS error < 0.2%) establish numerical robustness. Parametric analysis (Γ = 0–1.0) reveals conservative EHD forcing introduces < 7% hemodynamic perturbation while maintaining physiological wall shear stress (0.07–0.08 Pa), pulsatility index (PI ≈ 1.0), and oscillatory shear index (OSI < 0.01). Frequency response analysis (fE/fp = 1–1000) demonstrates time-averaged WSS insensitivity to EHD frequency, with shear oscillation reduction near frequency ratio 102. Thermal analysis reveals three regimes: Safe (Γ ≤ 2.0, E0 ≤ 1315 kV/m, ∆T < 2◦C) enabling threefold WSS enhancement (0.075→0.22 Pa); Marginal (2.0 < Γ < 7.7); and Unsafe (Γ ≥ 7.7, E0 ≥ 2580 kV/m) where Joule heating induces cellular stress. Q10 biological analysis recommends Γ ≤ 1.0 (∆T ≤ 0.65◦C) for temperature-sensitive studies. Safe operation accesses small-to-medium vessel hemodynamics (0.05–0.3 Pa) but not large arterial WSS (2–7 Pa). Two-dimensional (Γ, Ap) design mapping demonstrates orthogonal control enabling independent tuning of mean WSS and pulsatility. Results establish quantitative design guidelines requiring experimental validation. Keywords: Vascular-on-chip, Electrohydrodynamic actuation, Pulsatile microflow, Wall shear stress, Joule heating, Microvascular hemodynamics, Numerical modeling, Thermal biocompatibility Vascular-on-chip Electrohydrodynamic actuation Pulsatile microflow Wall shear stress Joule heating Microvascular hemodynamics Numerical modeling Thermal biocompatibility Full Text Additional Declarations No competing interests reported. Cite Share Download PDF Status: Posted Version 1 posted You are reading this latest preprint version Research Square lets you share your work early, gain feedback from the community, and start making changes to your manuscript prior to peer review in a journal. As a division of Research Square Company, we’re committed to making research communication faster, fairer, and more useful. We do this by developing innovative software and high quality services for the global research community. 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Also discoverable on Platform About Our Team In Review Editorial Policies Advisory Board Help Center Resources Author Services Accessibility API Access RSS feed Manage Cookie Preferences © Research Square 2026 | ISSN 2693-5015 (online) Privacy Policy Terms of Service Do Not Sell My Personal Information {"props":{"pageProps":{"initialData":{"identity":"rs-8589214","acceptedTermsAndConditions":true,"allowDirectSubmit":true,"archivedVersions":[],"articleType":"Research Article","associatedPublications":[],"authors":[{"id":628909790,"identity":"09d06eab-b202-4618-ba60-2cb33ed1b6c8","order_by":0,"name":"Vaitheeswaran Gnanaraj","email":"data:image/png;base64,iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAAAZAAAAAyAQMAAABI0h/eAAAABlBMVEX///8AAABVwtN+AAAACXBIWXMAAA7EAAAOxAGVKw4bAAAA1ElEQVRIiWNgGAWjYFCCA1CavQFIGFiQooUHxDCQIMU2iQQwSViheePZoxu/7rDL45/5/OqGHwUSDPzt3Ql4tcgcOJd2W/ZMcrHE7Zyymz1Ah0mcObsBv3MYzpjdlmxjTmy4nZN2gweoxUAilygt9Ynzb55Ju/mHWC03P7YdTtxwg/3YbSJtAfqFse144sYzOWy3ZQwkeAj7ReLssZs/26oT5x0//uzmmz82cvztvfi1AAOIgZkHzOIxAJP4lYMAfw8D4w8wi/0BYdWjYBSMglEwIgEAEtJO9SqVxSMAAAAASUVORK5CYII=","orcid":"","institution":"Anna University, Chennai","correspondingAuthor":true,"prefix":"","firstName":"Vaitheeswaran","middleName":"","lastName":"Gnanaraj","suffix":""},{"id":628909791,"identity":"aac56b13-9af8-46a4-a72c-31ddb56d61c1","order_by":1,"name":"Balamanikandan P","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"Anna University, Chennai","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Balamanikandan","middleName":"","lastName":"P","suffix":""},{"id":628909792,"identity":"bf4e3313-ebd0-4502-9ebc-1f11f81ceab1","order_by":2,"name":"Balakrishnan Vellaikannan","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"Anna University, Chennai","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Balakrishnan","middleName":"","lastName":"Vellaikannan","suffix":""}],"badges":[],"createdAt":"2026-01-13 08:23:39","currentVersionCode":1,"declarations":"","doi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-8589214/v1","doiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-8589214/v1","draftVersion":[],"editorialEvents":[],"editorialNote":"","failedWorkflow":false,"files":[{"id":107867634,"identity":"001f7131-d480-4b8a-bf6f-85526e9deadd","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2026-04-27 06:57:24","extension":"pdf","order_by":1,"title":"","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"manuscript-pdf","size":954415,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"","description":"","filename":"SHEARDYNAMICSFINALPAPERV1.0.pdf","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-8589214/v1_covered_c87e5a20-475d-4d9e-99eb-6594a469d3cb.pdf"}],"financialInterests":"No competing interests reported.","formattedTitle":"Shear Dynamics in Electrohydrodynamically Actuated Pulsatile Vascular-on-Chip Systems: A Numerical Study","fulltext":[],"fulltextSource":"","fullText":"","funders":[],"hasAdminPriorityOnWorkflow":false,"hasManuscriptDocX":false,"hasOptedInToPreprint":true,"hasPassedJournalQc":"","hasAnyPriority":true,"hideJournal":true,"highlight":"","institution":"","isAcceptedByJournal":false,"isAuthorSuppliedPdf":true,"isDeskRejected":"","isHiddenFromSearch":false,"isInQc":false,"isInWorkflow":false,"isPdf":true,"isPdfUpToDate":true,"isWithdrawnOrRetracted":false,"journal":{"display":true,"email":"[email protected]","identity":"researchsquare","isNatureJournal":false,"hasQc":true,"allowDirectSubmit":true,"externalIdentity":"","sideBox":"","snPcode":"","submissionUrl":"/submission","title":"Research Square","twitterHandle":"researchsquare","acdcEnabled":true,"dfaEnabled":false,"editorialSystem":"","reportingPortfolio":"","inReviewEnabled":false,"inReviewRevisionsEnabled":true},"keywords":"Vascular-on-chip, Electrohydrodynamic actuation, Pulsatile microflow, Wall shear stress, Joule heating, Microvascular hemodynamics, Numerical modeling, Thermal biocompatibility","lastPublishedDoi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-8589214/v1","lastPublishedDoiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-8589214/v1","license":{"name":"CC BY 4.0","url":"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/"},"manuscriptAbstract":"Electrohydrodynamic (EHD) actuation offers a promising, valve-free approach for generating controllable flow in vascular-on-chip platforms. A reduced-order numerical framework is developed to investigate pulsatile microchannel flow (Re = 0.069, α = 0.100) subjected to combined pressure-driven forcing and EHD body forces. Machine-level validation against Hagen–Poiseuille solutions (L2 error = 4.15×10−18 m/s) and independent shooting-method cross-verification (WSS error \u003c 0.2%) establish numerical robustness. Parametric analysis (Γ = 0–1.0) reveals conservative EHD forcing introduces \u003c 7% hemodynamic perturbation while maintaining physiological wall shear stress (0.07–0.08 Pa), pulsatility index (PI ≈ 1.0), and oscillatory shear index (OSI \u003c 0.01). Frequency response analysis (fE/fp = 1–1000) demonstrates time-averaged WSS insensitivity to EHD frequency, with shear oscillation reduction near frequency ratio 102. Thermal analysis reveals three regimes: Safe (Γ ≤ 2.0, E0 ≤ 1315 kV/m, ∆T \u003c 2◦C) enabling threefold WSS enhancement (0.075→0.22 Pa); Marginal (2.0 \u003c Γ \u003c 7.7); and Unsafe (Γ ≥ 7.7, E0 ≥ 2580 kV/m) where Joule heating induces cellular stress. Q10 biological analysis recommends Γ ≤ 1.0 (∆T ≤ 0.65◦C) for temperature-sensitive studies. Safe operation accesses small-to-medium vessel hemodynamics (0.05–0.3 Pa) but not large arterial WSS (2–7 Pa). Two-dimensional (Γ, Ap) design mapping demonstrates orthogonal control enabling independent tuning of mean WSS and pulsatility. 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