Experimental Investigations of Laminar, Transitional to Turbulent Gas Flow in Rib-Patterned Micro-Channels

The effects of rib-patterned surfaces on laminar, transitional to turbulent gas flow in micro-channels were experimentally investigated in the present study. The experiments were performed for two micro-channels having either smooth or rib-patterned surfaces. The micro-channels were etched into silicon wafers and capped with glass substrates. The micro-ribs were patterned on the microchannel surfaces and oriented perpendicular to the flow direction. The pressure was measured at seven locations along the channel length to determine local values of Mach number and friction factor for a wide range of flow regime from laminar to turbulent flow. The friction factors with the hydraulic diameter based on the rib-to-upper-wall height were compared with that for incompressible theory on Moody chart. The values of the product of friction factor and Reynolds number (f·Re) as a function of Mach number were also compared with those of smooth micro-channels and incompressible theory.