The effect of svelteness on the bifurcation angles role in pressure drop and flow uniformity of tree-shaped microchannels

Abstract

In this investigation, svelteness is introduced as an important factor which illustrates the importance of bifurcation angle effect on pressure drop and flow distribution uniformity in tree-shaped networks. Moreover, the influence of mass flow rate and Reynolds number is also discussed. Results show that as svelteness increases, flow uniformity is enhanced while the effect of bifurcation angle on the pressure drop is diminished. The power-law relationship between Bejan number and dimensionless mass flow rate shows that the power component increases at higher values of svelteness which is in agreement with previously published works. Numerical simulations of the proposed networks showed that flow distribution uniformity and thermal uniformity are achieved at low Reynolds numbers. Thus, in addition to Svelteness, Reynolds number is also an important factor which should be considered when uniformity is desired. © 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.