Skip to main navigation Skip to search Skip to main content

Lattice Boltzmann simulation of rarefied gas flow along moving rigid objects in micro-cavities

Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceedingConference contributionpeer-review

3 Scopus citations

Abstract

Rarefied gas flow plays an important role in the design and performance analysis of micro-electro-mechanical systems (MEMS) under high-vacuum conditions. The rarefaction can be evaluated by the Knudsen number (Kn), which is the ratio of the molecular mean free path length and the characteristic length. In micro systems, the rarefied gas flow usually stays in the slip-and transition-flow regions (10-3 < Kn < 10), and may even go into the free molecular flow region (Kn > 10). As a result, conventional design tools based on continuum Navier-Stokes equation solvers are not applicable to analyzing rarefaction phenomena in MEMS under vacuum conditions. In this paper, we investigate the rarefied gas flow by using the lattice Boltzmann method (LBM), which is suitable for mesoscopic fluid simulation. The gas pressure determines the mean free path length and Kn, which further influences the relaxation time in the collision procedure of LBM. Here, we focus on the problem of squeezed film damping caused by an oscillating rigid object in a cavity. We propose an improved LBM with an immersed boundary approach, where an adjustable force term is used to quantify the interaction between the moving object and adjacent fluid, and further determines the slip velocity. With the proposed approach, the rarefied gas flow in MEMS with squeezed film damping is characterized. Different factors that affect the damping coefficient, such as pressure of gas and frequency of oscillation, are investigated in our simulation studies.

Original languageBritish English
Title of host publicationASME 2015 13th International Conference on Nanochannels, Microchannels, and Minichannels, ICNMM 2015, collocated with the ASME 2015 International Technical Conference and Exhibition on Packaging and Integration of Electronic and Photonic Microsystems
ISBN (Electronic)9780791856871
DOIs
StatePublished - 2015
EventASME 2015 13th International Conference on Nanochannels, Microchannels, and Minichannels, ICNMM 2015, collocated with the ASME 2015 International Technical Conference and Exhibition on Packaging and Integration of Electronic and Photonic Microsystems - San Francisco, United States
Duration: 6 Jul 20159 Jul 2015

Publication series

NameASME 2015 13th International Conference on Nanochannels, Microchannels, and Minichannels, ICNMM 2015, collocated with the ASME 2015 International Technical Conference and Exhibition on Packaging and Integration of Electronic and Photonic Microsystems

Conference

ConferenceASME 2015 13th International Conference on Nanochannels, Microchannels, and Minichannels, ICNMM 2015, collocated with the ASME 2015 International Technical Conference and Exhibition on Packaging and Integration of Electronic and Photonic Microsystems
Country/TerritoryUnited States
CitySan Francisco
Period6/07/159/07/15

Fingerprint

Dive into the research topics of 'Lattice Boltzmann simulation of rarefied gas flow along moving rigid objects in micro-cavities'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

Cite this