Computational fluid dynamics studies on the flow of fluids through microchannel with intentional obstacles

Abstract

Computational fluid dynamics (CFD) studies on the flow of fluid in a microchannel of serpentine type with obstacles of various geometrical shapes (rectangular, triangular, trapezoidal, and curved) along the channel length were considered in this work. The governing equations were solved to understand the hydrodynamic behavior of fluid flow in the serpentine microchannel. The results obtained from the study for the range of Reynolds numbers (40≤ Re ≤ 200), the height of the obstacles (or irregularity) and various shapes of barriers upon the friction factor was systematically examined and presented. It is observed from the results that the increase in barrier height results in a rise in friction factor in a non-linear fashion. The velocity and pressure-drop inconsistency in the microchannel was noticed for all the cases studied. Also, it is witnessed that the hindrance geometry (or the obstacle) in the flow path of the serpentine channel plays an essential role in the estimation of the friction factor.