Models for Pressure Drop for Poiseuille Flow in Trapezoidal and Triangular Microchannels in Silicon

Models, numerical and experimental results for developed laminar flow of liquids in long isosceles trapezoidal and triangular microchannels KOH-etched in < 100 > silicon substrates are reviewed and compared. The equivalent rectangle model (ERM) based on a novel model for the effective aspect ratio was developed for non-circular microchannels; it will be compared with the numerical results of Morini (2004) and McHale and Garimella (2010) as well as the extensive experimental data of Wu and Cheng (2003) for several trapezoidal and triangular microchannels. In addition, a simple correlation equation for all numerical and experimental data (62 points) is presented. The equivalent rectangle model is accurate with rms difference of 3.1%. A maximum difference of −7% occurs for data obtained for flow through four very narrow trapezoidal microchannels.