Simulations for gas flows in microgeometries using the direct simulation Monte Carlo method

Micro gas flows are often encountered in MEMS devices and classical CFD could not accurately predict the flow and thermal behavior due to the high Knudsen number. Therefore, the gas flow in microgeometries was investigated using the direct simulation Monte Carlo (DSMC) method. New treatments for boundary conditions are verified by simulations of micro-Poiseuille flow, compared with the previous boundary treatments, and slip analytical solutions of the continuum theory. The orifice flow and the corner flow in microchannels are simulated using the modified DSMC codes. The predictions were compared with existing experimental phenomena as well as predictions using continuum theory. The results showed that the channel geometry significantly affects the microgas flow. In the orifice flow, the flow separation occurred at very small Reynolds numbers. In the corner flow, no flow separation occurred even with a high driving pressure. The DSMC results agreed well with existing experimental information.     

Mass flow rate prediction of pressure–temperature-driven gas flows through micro/nanoscale channels

In this paper, we study mass flow rate of rarefied gas flow through micro/nanoscale channels under simultaneous thermal and pressure gradients using the direct simulation Monte Carlo (DSMC) method. We first compare our DSMC solutions for mass flow rate of pure temperature-driven flow with those of Boltzmann-Krook-Walender equation and Bhatnagar-Gross-Krook solutions. Then, we focus on pressure–temperature-driven flows. The effects of different parameters such as flow rarefaction, channel pressure ratio, wall temperature gradient and flow bulk temperature on the thermal mass flow rate of the pressure–temperature-driven flow are examined. Based on our analysis, we propose a correlated relation that expresses normalized mass flow rate increment due to thermal creep as a function of flow rarefaction, normalized wall temperature gradient and pressure ratio over a wide range of Knudsen number. We examine our predictive relation by simulation of pressure-driven flows under uniform wall heat flux (UWH) boundary condition. Walls under UWH condition have non-uniform temperature distribution, that is, thermal creep effects exist. Our investigation shows that developed analytical relation could predict mass flow rate of rarefied pressure-driven gas flows under UWH condition at early transition regime, that is, up to Knudsen numbers of 0.5.     

Investigation on a coupled Navier–Stokes–Direct Simulation Monte Carlo method for the simulation of plume flowfield of a conical nozzle

To assess the plume effects of space thrusters, the accurate plume flowfield is indispensable. The plume flow of thrusters involves both continuum and rarefied flow regimes. Coupled Navier–Stokes–Direct Simulation Monte Carlo (NS–DSMC) method is a major approach to the simulation of continuum‐rarefied flows. An axisymmetric coupled NS–DSMC solver, possessing adaptive‐interface and two‐way coupling features, is investigated in this paper for the simulation of the nozzle and plume flows of thrusters. The state‐based coupling scheme is adopted, and the gradient local Knudsen number is used to indicate the breakdown of continuum solver. The nitrogen flows in a conical nozzle and its plume are chosen as the reference case to test the coupled solver. The threshold value of the continuum breakdown parameter is studied based on both theoretical kinetic velocity sampling and coupled numerical tests. Succeeding comparisons between coupled and full DSMC results demonstrate their conformities, meanwhile, the former saves 58.8% computational time. The pitot pressure evaluated from the coupled simulation result is compared with the experimental data proposed in literatures, revealing that the coupled method makes precise predictions on the experimental pitot pressure. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

The study of sound wave propagation in rarefied gases using unified gas-kinetic scheme

Sound wave propagation in rarefied monatomic gases is simulated using a newly developed unified gaskinetic scheme (UGKS). The numerical calculations are carried out for a wide range of wave oscillating frequencies. The corresponding rarefaction parameter is defined as the ratio of sound wave frequency to the intermolecular particle collision frequency. The simulation covers the flow regime from the continuum to free molecule one. The treatment of the oscillating wall boundary condition and the methods for evaluating the absorption coefficient and sound wave speed are presented in detail. The simulation results from the UGKS are compared to the Navier-Stokes solutions, the direct simulation Monte Carlo (DSMC) simulation, and experimental measurements. Good agreement with the experimental data has been obtained in the whole flow regimes for the corresponding Knudsen number from 0.08 to 32. The current study clearly demonstrates the capability of the UGKS method in capturing the sound wave propagation and its usefulness for the rarefied flow study.     

基于稀薄效应的微气体径向轴承稳态性能

针对微气体轴承给出参考努森数的定义,根据空气不同温度时的黏度,得到参考努森数的分布范围;考虑气体稀薄效应,给出基于Burgdorfer一阶滑移速度边界的微气体径向轴承润滑Reynolds方程的修正形式; 采用有限差分法求解修正的Reynolds方程,得到不同参考努森数$Kn_0$, 轴承数以及轴颈偏心率情况下轴承的压力分布、无量纲承载能力及偏位角. 数值分析表明:随气体稀薄程度的增强,气体径向轴承的压力明显降低,无量纲承载力降低,而轴承偏位角增大. 当偏心率小于0.6时,轴承偏位角变化平缓,受$Kn_0$数的影响不明显. 当轴承数较小时,气体稀薄程度对轴承的无量纲承载力、偏位角影响较小.      

Empirical slip and viscosity model performance for microscale gas flow

For the simple geometries of Couette and Poiseuille flows, the velocity profile maintains a similar shape from continuum to free molecular flow. Therefore, modifications to the fluid viscosity and slip boundary conditions can improve the continuum based Navier–Stokes solution in the non‐continuum non‐equilibrium regime. In this investigation, the optimal modifications are found by a linear least‐squares fit of the Navier–Stokes solution to the non‐equilibrium solution obtained using the direct simulation Monte Carlo (DSMC) method. Models are then constructed for the Knudsen number dependence of the viscosity correction and the slip model from a database of DSMC solutions for Couette and Poiseuille flows of argon and nitrogen gas, with Knudsen numbers ranging from 0.01 to 10. Finally, the accuracy of the models is measured for non‐equilibrium cases both in and outside the DSMC database. Flows outside the database include: combined Couette and Poiseuille flow, partial wall accommodation, helium gas, and non‐zero convective acceleration. The models reproduce the velocity profiles in the DSMC database within an L₂ error norm of 3% for Couette flows and 7% for Poiseuille flows. However, the errors in the model predictions outside the database are up to five times larger. Copyright © 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

微喷管流动粒子仿真与Navier-Stokes数值模拟比较研究

运用DSMC（Direct Simulation Monte—Carlo）方法从分子运动论层次对大膨胀比、喉部转角为尖角的微喷管流动现象进行模拟,考察来流总压对喷管性能的影响,并与Navier—Stokes方程运算结果、实验结果进行比较。研究表明：在模拟微型喷管的流动现象时,DSMC方法比N—S方程更加适用。     

A computational study of gas flow in a De‐Laval micronozzle at different throat diameters

A numerical study has been carried out to investigate the gas flows in a micronozzle using a continuum model under both slip and no‐slip boundary conditions. The governing equations were solved with a finite volume method. The numerical model was validated with available experimental data. Numerical results of exit thrust showed good agreement with experimental data except at very low Reynolds numbers. For parametric studies on the effect of geometric scaling, the nozzle throat diameter was varied from 10 to 0.1 mm, whereas throat Reynolds number was varied from 5 to 2000. A correlation has also been developed to calculate the specific impulse at specified throat diameter and Reynolds number. The effect of different gases on the specific impulse of the nozzle, such as helium, nitrogen, argon and carbon dioxide, was also examined. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Extension of the DSMC method to high pressure flows

A collision-limiter method, designated as equilibrium direct simulation Monte Carlo (eDSMC), is proposed to extend the DSMC technique to high pressure flows. The method is similar to collision-limiter schemes considered in the past with the important distinction that for inviscid flows, equilibrium is enforced in the entire flow by providing a sufficient number of collisions, based on pre-simulation testing. To test the method with standard DSMC and Navier–Stokes (NS) methods, axi-symmetric nozzle and embedded-channel flows are simulated and compared with experimental temperature data and pre-existing calculations, respectively. The method is shown to agree with third-order Eulerian nozzle flows and first-order channel flows. Chapman–Enskog theory is utilized to predict the range of initial conditions where eDSMC is potentially useful for modeling flows that contain viscous boundary layer regions. Comparison with supersonic nozzle data suggests that the eDSMC method is not adequate for capturing the large variation in flow length scales occurring in supersonic expansions into a vacuum. However, when eDSMC is used in combination with the baseline-DSMC method a near-exact solution is obtained with a considerable computational savings compared to the exact DSMC solution. Viscous flow channel calculations are found to agree well with an exact Navier–Stokes (NS) calculation for a small Knudsen number case as predicted by Chapman–Enskog theory.     

Mesoscopic Simulation of Rarefied Flow in Narrow Channels and Porous Media

Rarefied gas flow in channels and computer-aided reconstructions of porous media is simulated using the direct simulation Monte Carlo (DSMC) method and a modified lattice-Boltzmann (LB) method that can account for rarefaction effects. An increase of two orders of magnitude was noted for the gas permeability as the Knudsen number increased from 0.1 to 10. It was found that incorporation of a Bosanquet expression for the viscosity in the dusty gas flux equations leads to the recovery of the well known Klinkenberg expression for the gas permeability, revealing an explicit relation of the, thus far empirical, permeability correction factor to the fluid and structure properties. The expression for the effective gas viscosity in the transition flow regime is also incorporated in the LB method, which is then validated against the DSMC method by comparing predictions for the velocity profiles in straight channels over the entire transition flow regime. The new LB method offers the additional advantages of simplicity in the code implementation and great savings in computational time and memory compared to the DSMC method. It is shown that the rough adjustment of a single parameter suffices to make the LB method suitable for the reliable prediction of the gas permeability in porous media over the entire transition flow regime.     

A novel efficient hybrid DSMC–dynamic collision limiter algorithm for multiscale transitional flows

A new 2D parallel multispecies polyatomic particle–based hybrid flow solver is developed by coupling the Direct Simulation Monte Carlo (DSMC) method with a novel Dynamic Collision Limiter (DCL) approach to solve multiscale transitional flows. The hybrid DSMC‐DCL solver can solve nonequilibrium multiscale flows with length scales ranging from continuum to rarefied. The DCL method, developed in this work, dynamically assigns different number of collisions in cells, which is based on the local value of K‐S parameter such that the number of collisions per time step is limited in near‐equilibrium flow regions. Present hybrid solver uses the Kolmogorov‐Smirnov statistical test as the continuum breakdown parameter, based on which, the solution domain is decomposed into near‐equilibrium and nonequilibrium flow regions. Direct Simulation Monte Carlo is used where nonequilibrium flow regions are encountered, while the DCL method is used where flow regions are found to be in near‐equilibrium state. In this work, we have studied hypersonic flow of nitrogen over a blunt body with an aerospike and supersonic flow of argon through a micronozzle. The results obtained by the hybrid DSMC‐DCL solver are compared and shown to agree well with the experimental data and with those obtained from DSMC, with significant savings in the computational cost.     

Experimental investigation of rarefied gas flow through rectangular slits and nozzles

The flow of a rarefied gas through rectangular configuratons of different geometries has been experimentally studied to determine their discharge coefficient characteristics. The configurations used are a set of sharp-edged slit orifices, a smooth converging nozzle and a tube. The range of the Reynolds number based on the throat conditions varied from 0.01 to 100. The equivalent Knudsen number range based on the upstream conditions and inlet diameter varied from 0.0521 to 2.521. The results for the smooth nozzle are compared with calculations using a numerical method with one-dimensional stream tube approximation based on integrated boundary layer equations. The slit and the tube results are compared with the experimental results of Sreekanth and Davis [1988].     

Computation of head–disk interface gap micro flowfields using DSMC and continuum–atomistic hybrid methods

This paper discusses computational modeling of micro flow in the head–disk interface (HDI) gap using the direct simulation Monte Carlo (DSMC) method. Modeling considerations are discussed in detail both for a stand‐alone DSMC computation and for the case of a hybrid continuum–atomistic simulation that couples the Navier–Stokes (NS) equation to a DSMC solver. The impact of the number of particles and number of cells on the accuracy of a DSMC simulation of the HDI gap is investigated both for two‐ and three‐dimensional configurations. An appropriate implicit boundary treatment method for modeling inflow and outflow boundaries is used in this work for a three‐dimensional DSMC micro flow simulation. As the flow outside the slider is in the continuum regime, a hybrid continuum–atomistic method based on the Schwarz alternating method is used to couple the DSMC model in the slider bearing region to the flow outside the slider modeled by NS equation. Schwarz coupling is done in two dimensions by taking overlap regions along two directions and the Chapman–Enskog distribution is employed for imposing the boundary condition from the continuum region to the DSMC region. Converged hybrid flow solutions are obtained in about five iterations and the hybrid DSMC–NS solutions show good agreement with the exact solutions in the entire domain considered. An investigation on the impact of the size of the overlap region on the convergence behavior of the Schwarz method indicates that the hybrid coupling by the Schwarz method is weakly dependent on the size of the overlap region. However, the use of a finite overlap region will facilitate the exchange of boundary conditions as the hybrid solution has been found to diverge in the absence of an overlap region for coupling the two models. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Analysis of gaseous flow in a micropipe with second order velocity slip and temperature jump boundary conditions

In this paper, second order velocity slip and temperature jump boundary conditions are used to solve the momentum and energy equations along with isoflux thermal boundary condition at the surface of the micropipe. The flow is assumed to be hydrodynamically and thermally fully developed inside the micropipe and viscous dissipation is included in the analysis. The solution yields closed form expressions for the temperature field and Nusselt number (Nu) as a function of various modeling parameters, namely, Knudsen number and Brinkman number (Br). For the given values of Br, the maximum difference of Nu between continuum flow with first order slip model and continuum and, second order slip model is found to be 35.67 and 34.62 %, respectively. Present solution exhibits good agreement with the other theoretical models.     

Asymptotic theory of the Boltzmann system,for a steady flow of a slightly rarefied gas with a finite Mach number: General theory

A steady rarefied gas flow with Mach number of the order of unity around a body or bodies is considered. The general behaviour of the gas for small Knudsen numbers is studied by asymptotic analysis of the boundary-value problem of the Boltzmann equation for a general domain. The effect of gas rarefaction (or Knudsen number) is expressed as a power series of the square root of the Knudsen number of the system. A series of fluid-dynamic type equations and their associated boundary conditions that determine the component functions of the expansion of the density, flow velocity, and temperature of the gas is obtained by the analysis. The equations up to the order of the square root of the Knudsen number do not contain non-Navier–Stokes stress and heat flow, which differs from the claim by Darrozes (in Rarefied Gas Dynamics, Academic Press, New York, 1969). The contributions up to this order, except in the Knudsen layer, are included in the system of the Navier–Stokes equations and the slip boundary conditions consisting of tangential velocity slip due to the shear of flow and temperature jump due to the temperature gradient normal to the boundary.     

Heat transfer effects on particle motion under rarefied conditions

Gas–solid flows occurring on very small spatial scales (of the order of micro and nanometres) are of great relevance in a number of industrial applications. It is currently not well established how particle motion and filtration are affected by non-isothermal conditions at such scales. Furthermore, when the particle size is comparable to the mean free path of the gas, rarefaction effects become important. In the present work we investigate the effects of heat transfer and non-isothermal conditions on the motion of small particles in rarefied flow. For that purpose, a suitable framework is developed here as a generic multiphase DNS method for rarefied flows. The resulting model is valid for low particle Reynolds number flows, irrespective of the Biot number, and for particle Knudsen numbers up to unity in unbounded flow. Using this model, we show that there is different settling behaviour of particles with an internal heat source in rarefied and continuum cases of the carrier gas respectively. It is shown that the chances for thermal levitation and/or lifting up of a particle due to buoyancy effects are significantly reduced under rarefied conditions.     

Navier-Stokes方程二阶速度滑移边界条件的检验

对微尺度气体流动,Navier-Stokes方程和一阶速度滑移边界条件的结果与实验数据相比,在滑移区相互符合,在过渡领域则显著偏离.为改善Navier-Stokes方程在过渡领域的表现,有些研究者尝试引入二阶速度滑移边界条件,如Cercignani模型,Deissler模型和Beskok-Karniadakis模型.以微槽道气体流动为例,将Navier-Stokes方程在不同的二阶速度滑移模型下的结果与动理论的直接模拟Monte Carlo(DSMC)方法和信息保存(IP)方法以及实验数据进行比较.在所考察的3种具有代表性的二阶速度滑移模型中,Cercignani模型表现最好,其所给出的质量流率在Knudsen数为0.4时仍与DSMC和IP结果相符;然而,细致比较表明,Cercignani模型给出的物面滑移速度及其附近的速度分布在滑流区和过渡领域的分界处(Kn=0.1)已明显偏离DSMC和IP的结果.     

Slowly mixing cylinder in a cone-shaped nozzle

We report on a surprising phenomenon in a turbulent jet setup which uses a cone-shaped nozzle with an excentric inlet. Inside the nozzle a slowly mixing, rotating cylinder surface was observed. The speed of mixing on this cylinder surface is reduced by approximately a factor of 8 compared to the remaining flow field of the nozzle. The phenomenon seems to be independent of the Reynolds number and the pressure distribution inside the nozzle.     

Liquid flow in a simplex swirl nozzle

Pressure-swirl nozzles are widely used in applications such as combustion, painting, air-conditioning, and fire suppression. Understanding the effects of nozzle geometry and inlet flow conditions on liquid film thickness, discharge coefficient and spray angle is very important in nozzle design. The nozzle-internal flow is two-phase with a secondary flow which makes its detailed analysis rather complex. In the current work, the flow field inside a pressure-swirl nozzle is studied theoretically. Using the integral momentum method, the growth of the boundary layer from the nozzle entry to the orifice exit is investigated and the velocity through the boundary layer and the main body of the swirling liquid is calculated. A numerical modeling and a series of experiments have also been performed to validate the theoretical results. The effect of various geometrical parameters is studied and results are compared for viscous and inviscid cases. In addition, the condition in which the centrifugal force of the swirling flow overcomes the viscous force and induces an air core is predicted. The theoretical analysis discussed in this paper provides better criteria for the design and the performance analysis of nozzles.     

基于Boltzmann模型方程的气体运动论统一算法研究

模型方程出发,研究确立含流态控制参数可描述不同流域气体流动特征的气体分子速度分布函数方程; 研究发展气体运动论离散速度坐标法, 借助非定常时间分裂数值计算方法和NND差分格式, 结合DSMC方法关于分子运动与碰撞去耦技术, 发展直接求解速度分布函数的气体运动论耦合迭代数值格式; 研制可用于物理空间各点宏观流动取矩的离散速度数值积分方法, 由此提出一套能有效模拟稀薄流到连续流不同流域气体流动问题统一算法. 通过对不同Knudsen数下一维激波内流动、二维圆柱、三维球体绕流数值计算表明, 计算结果与有关实验数据及其它途径研究结果(如DSMC模拟值、N-S数值解)吻合较好, 证实气体运动论统一算法求解各流域气体流动问题的可行性. 尝试将统一算法进行HPF并行化程序设计, 基于对球体绕流及类``神舟'返回舱外形绕流问题进行HPF初步并行试算, 显示出统一算法具有很好的并行可扩展性, 可望建立起新型的能有效模拟各流域飞行器绕流HPF并行算法研究方向. 通过将气体运动论统一算法推广应用于微槽道流动计算研究, 已初步发展起可靠模拟二维短微槽道流动数值算法; 通过对Couette流、Poiseuille流、压力驱动的二维短槽道流数值模拟, 证实该算法对微槽道气体流动问题具有较强的模拟能力, 可望发展起基于Boltzmann模型方程能可靠模拟MEMS微流动问题气体运动论数值计算方法研究途径.