Mathematical Modeling of Capillary Pumping Within Micron Sized Channels

This paper introduces a mathematical model which can be used to simulate the capillary pumping process of a micro heat engine. The micro heat engine has micron sized channels where the capillary pumping occurs. The classic Volume of Fluids (VOF) method is applied to obtain the velocity profiles of the fluids and to track the motions of the liquid-gas interfaces. The numerical results based this model have been compared with the experimental data and the initial retard of the pumping has been found and this phenomenon can be explained by the initial capillary pressure build-ups across the liquid-gas interfaces.