Modeling of flow characteristic and heat transfer for micro couette flow

Abstract

Gaseous flow encountered in micro/nano electromechanical systems experiences change in Kn number across a wide range of flow regime due to variation in characteristic length in the system and significant compressibility of the rarefied gas. In this study, we attempt to develop a general, physics-based model to predict the flow and heat transfer in the slip and transition regimes. Such an extension is constructed on the fact that Chapman-Enskog's approximation of the Boltzmann equation can be revised using a function of Kn number as a perturbation. Velocity slip and temperature jump at the solid boundaries are modified accordingly. Rarefaction effects on dynamic viscosity and thermal conductivity are considered. As a first step to evaluate the model, it is applied to the simplest shear-driven flow, micro Couette flow. Compared with the results of DSMC, satisfactory agreement has been achieved in a wide range of Kn and Ma numbers.