Analysis of Flow Resistance in Microchannels at Slip-Flow Regime by Direct Simulation Monte Carlo Method

The characteristics of micro gaseous flows in microchannels have been analyzed in view of flow resistance using the direct simulation Monte Carlo (DSMC) method which is a molecule-based numerical modeling technique. For this purpose, a DSMC code where the pressure boundary condition was specified at the inlet and outlet, has been developed and the results of simulations showed satisfactory agreements with the analytic solution in the slip flow regime. (0.01 < Kn < 0.1) By varying the height and length of the microchannel, the effect of pressure difference between the inlet and outlet was examined. The present computation indicates that the curvature in pressure distribution along the channel increases due to the effect of compressibility when the pressure difference increases. To obtain the flow resistance regardless of the channel dimensions, a standard curve is devised in the present study by introducing the concept of unit mass flowrate and unit driving pressure force. From this curve, it is shown that in micro flows, a significant deviation from the laminar incompressible flow occurs by reducing the flow resistance.