Fabrication and Investigation of Curved PDMS Micro Nozzle/Diffuser
This study describes the results on the fabrication, testing and analysis of curved micro nozzle/diffuser. First, we use different polymers, SU-8 and polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) for the fabrication of curved micro nozzle/diffuser. By using the low-temperature bonding technique, we can combine the structure with the glass and accomplish the component. In order to understand the investigation and analysis of fluid dynamics characteristics, we measure the pressure and flow of curved micro nozzle/diffuser and the commercially available software CFD was adopted for analyzing the performance of straight and curved micro nozzle/ diffuser. If we have a given Reynolds number, the experimental data shows the pressure loss of the diffuser is lower than that of the nozzle due to the change of momentum. Furthermore, the results also indicate that the pressure loss coefficient of both curved nozzle and diffuser decrease with the Reynolds number. All the experimental and numerical data Eventually are compared with each other. The numerical data was found good agreement with previous analytic solution and experimental results. In sum, the theoretical analysis and design basis from this study can be formulated as the reference in the fabrication of micro nozzle/diffuser.