DSMC Simulation of Supersonic Gas Flow in Microchannel

The present study is concerned with the flow characteristics of a microchannel supersonic gas flow. The direct simulation Monte Carlo (DSMC) method is employed for predicting the density, velocity and temperature distributions. For gas flows in micro systems, the continuum hypothesis, which underpins the Navier-Stokes equations, may be inappropriate. This is because the mean free path of the gas molecules may be comparable to the characteristic length scale of the device. The Knudsen number, Kn, which is the ratio of the mean free path of the gas molecules to the characteristic length scale of the device, is a convenient measure of the degree of rarefaction of the flow. In this paper, the effect of Knudsen number on supersonic microchannel flow characteristics is studied by varying the incoming flow pressure or the microchannel height. In addition, the microchannel height and the incoming flow pressure are varied simultaneously to investigate their effects on the flow characteristics. Meanwhile, the results show that until the diffuse reflection model is used throughout the microchannel, the temperature and the Mach number in the microchannel entrance may not be equal to free-stream values and therefore a discontinuity appear in the flow field.