Second Order Slip Flow Effects on Heat Transfer Performance of Microchannels

First and second order slip flow models in rectangular microchannels heated at constant and uniform wall temperature are studied. The velocity and temperature profiles for hydrodynamically and thermally developed incompressible slip flow regime available in literature are used. The average nondimensional slip velocity and temperature jump are found by using first and second order slip flow models. The average Nusselt number is also derived by using both first and second order slip flow models. The effects of Knudsen number, aspect ratio and second order slip flow model on the heat transfer characteristics of microchannel are explored.

Modeling Heat and Mass Transfer Correlations for Flow Through Micro Channels in Monolith Honeycomb Catalytic Combustor

This paper investigated performance characteristics analysis of catalytic combustion by utilizing 1-D models incorporated heat and mass transfer correlations. The 1-D numerical results were compared with 2-D models studies and experimental data. The performance characteristics were mainly the effects of operating conditions on methane conversion rate. The comparable analysis confirmed that 1-D model can success in predicting performance of catalytic combustion when empiric inter-phase heat and mass transfer correlations are used and appropriate operating conditions are chosen.

Marangoni Flow-Induced Droplet Deformation for Micromirror Applications

A simple method that utilizes Marangoni flow to create droplet deformation and to tilt micro-objects is presented. Contact angle hysteresis is employed to prevent the droplet from rolling away from the position. The device consists of a micromirror placed on the droplet, and can produce a 6.5° tilting angle when actuated at 30 V. It also demonstrates its scanning capability and potential as a micromirror.

Convection Heat Transfer of CO2 at Supercritical Pressures in a Vertical Mini Tube

This paper presents the experimental and numerical investigation results of the convection heat transfer of CO2 at supercritical pressures in a 0.0992 mm diameter vertical tube at various inlet Reynolds numbers, heat fluxes and flow directions. The effects of buoyancy and flow acceleration resulted from the dramatic properties variation were investigated. Results showed that the local wall temperature varied non-linearly for both upward and downward flow when the heat flux was high. The difference of the local wall temperature between upward flow and downward flow was very small when other test conditions were held the same, which indicates that for supercritical CO2 flowing in a mini tube as employed in this study, the buoyancy effect on the convection heat transfer was quite insignificant, and the flow acceleration induced by the axial density variation with temperature was the main factor that lead to the abnormal local wall temperature distribution at high heat fluxes. The predicted values using the LB low Reynolds number turbulence model correspond well with the measured data. Velocity profiles and turbulence kinetic energy near the wall varying along the tube generated by the numerical simulations were presented to develop a better understanding.

Anomalous Heat Conduction, Diffusion and Heat Rectification in Nanoscale Structures

In this paper, we report the recent developments in the study of heat transport in nano materials. First of all, we show that phonon transports in nanotube super-diffusively which leads to a length dependence thermal conductivity, thus breaks down the Fourier law. Then we discuss how the introduction of isotope doping can reduce the thermal conductivity efficiently. The theoretical results are in good agreement with experimental ones. Finally, we will demonstrate that nanoscale structures are promising candidates for heat rectification.

On the in Vitro Hyperthermia of Magnetic Fluid in AC Magnetic Field

Hyperthermia therapy for cancer has attracted much attention nowadays. The study on the heat transfer in the magnetic fluid and the tumor is crucial for the successful application of magnetic fluid hyperthermia (MFH). Water-based Fe3O4 magnetic fluid is expected to be a most appropriate candidate for MFH due to the good biocompatibility, high saturation magnetization, super-paramagnetization and high chemical stability. In this paper, we explore the heat generation and transfer in magnetic fluid which is placed under an AC magnetic field. It is found that the amplitude and the frequency of alternating magnetic field, particle size and volume fraction have a pronounce influence on maximum temperature of hyperthermia.

Coupling Between Phonons and Fluid Particles in Water/Carbon Nanotube Systems

We investigate thermal transport in water/carbon nanotube (CNT) composite systems using molecular dynamics simulations. Carbon-carbon interactions are modeled using the second-generation REBO potential, water-water interactions are modeled using the TIP4P potential, and carbon-water interactions are modeled using a Lennard-Jones potential. The thermal conductivities of empty and water-filled CNTs with diameters between 0.83 nm and 1.66 nm are predicted using molecular dynamics simulation and a direct application of the Fourier law. For empty CNTs, the thermal conductivity decreases with increasing CNT diameter. As the CNT length approaches 1 micron, a length-independent thermal conductivity is obtained, indicative of diffusive phonon transport. When the CNTs are filled with water, the thermal conductivity decreases compared to the empty CNTs and transitions to diffusive phonon transport at shorter lengths. To understand this behavior, we calculate the spectral energy density of the empty and water-filled CNTs and calculate the mode-specific group velocities, relaxation times, and thermal conductivity. For the empty 1.10 nm diameter CNT, we show that the acoustic phonon modes account for 65 percent of the total thermal conductivity. This behavior is attributed to their long mean-free paths. When the CNT is filled with water, interactions with the water molecules shorten the acoustic mode mean-free path and lower the overall CNT thermal conductivity.

Particle Manipulation Inside a Grooved Microfluidic Channel

The manipulation of particles and cells in micro-fluids, such as cell suspensions, is a fundamental task in Lab-on-a-Chip applications. According to their analysis purposes in either the pre- or post-processing stage, particles/cells flowing inside a microfluidic channel are handled by means of enriching, trapping, separating or sorting. In this study, we report the use of patterning flows produced by a series of grooved surfaces with different geometrical setups integrated into a microfluidic device, to continuously manipulate the flowing particles (5 to 20 μm in diameters) of comparable sizes to the depth of the channel in ways of: 1) concentrating, 2) focusing, and 3) potential separating. The device is fabricated using soft lithographic techniques and is composed of inlets, microfluidic channels, and outlets for loading, manipulating and retrieving cell suspensions, respectively. Such fabrication methods allow rapid prototyping of micron or submicron structures with multiple layers and replica molding on those fabricated features in a clear polymer. The particles are evenly distributed in the entrance of the microchannel and illustrate the enriching, focusing, or size-selective profiles after passing through the patterning grooves. We expect that the techniques of manipulating cell suspensions from this study can facilitate the development of cell-based devices on 1) the visualization of counting, 2) the visualization of sizing, and 3) the particle separating.

Comparison of Micro- and Nano-Size Particle Transport and Depositions in 90 Degree Bend Microchannel

The flow and electric field are simulated numerically with finite volume method first, then large number of nanoparticles and microparticles are injected into the microchannel separately, and these particles are traced with the Lagrangian method. It has been found that particle deposition efficiency in the bend usually decreases first then increases with particle size increasing, and there usually exists a minimum value and it corresponds to the particle diameter of about 3μm, which means that kind of particle can transport longer distance. The electric field doesn’t affect that specified value. This conclusion is helpful to the optimization of the design of microchips.

Bubble Dynamics From Artificial Nucleation Sites During Subcooled Pool Boiling

The bubble dynamics of ethanol vapor bubbles growing, coalescing and condensing in a subcooled ethanol liquid pool were investigated experimentally and numerically for a range of subcoolings and heating rates. The bubbles were generated from an artificial pair of nucleation sites made of microscale tubes mounted flush with the bottom surface of the liquid pool with the vapor supplied by a vapor generator. Observations of the bubble generation with a high speed camera show the various coalescence modes with no coalescence at low heating rates and high subcoolings and horizontal and/or vertical coalescence depending on the heating rate and subcooling. At very low subcoolings, the bubbles grew quite large with various types of coalescence. The numerical results using solutions of the Navier-Stokes equations with the VOF model and using a simplified one dimensional model also describe the bubble dynamics and the conditions for coalescence. The numerical results suggest that the condensation rate at the interface is probably much higher than predicted by the model due to significant convection in the liquid pool or due to significant disturbance of the interface by the vapor jet entering the bubble.