Coupling Kinetic and Continuum Equations for Micro Scale Flow Computations

An hybrid method, coupling the direct numerical solution of the Bhatnagar-Gross-Krook (BGK) kinetic equation and a Navier-Stokes model is presented. The computational physical domain is decomposed into kinetic and continuum sub-domains using an appropriate criteria based on the local Knudsen number and proper gradients of macro-parameters, computed via a preliminary Navier-Stokes solution throughout the whole physical domain. The coupling is achieved by matching half fluxes at the interface of the kinetic and Navier-Stokes domains, thus taking care of the conservation of momentum, energy and mass through the interface. The proposed method is used for the simulation of the flow through a micro-slit. Outlet to inlet pressure ratio of 0.1, 0.5 and 0.9 are considered, for a wide range of Knudsen number. The local parameters (density, velocity and temperature) along symmetry axis show satisfactory agreement with those computed by the continuum model.