Two cases of reciprocal relations for electric and hydrodynamic currents: A rigid polymer in a nano-channel and a polyelectrolyte gel

We illustrate an Onsager-type linear response theory of electrohydrodynamic coupling for two examples, namely, a long nano-channel blocked partially by a rigid polymer and a gel of semi-flexible polyelectrolyte chains. We calculate the hydrodynamic and electric currents driven by an external voltage and pressure and the corresponding Onsager coefficients for these systems. Our consideration clarifies the effect of the electro-osmotic flow on the effective charge of the polymer inside the channel. It also makes it possible to explore the dependence of the currents through the gel on the electric screening radius and salt concentration.