Sharif Digital Repository

We investigate the efficiency of a parallel direct simulation Monte Carlo (PDSMC) algorithm in solving the rarefied subsonic flow through a nanochannel. We use MPI library to transfer data between the processors. It is observed that PDSMC solver shows ideal speed up if sufficient workload is provided for each of processors. Additionally, this study shows that the computational time and speed up of the extended PDSMC solver do not depend (or slightly depend) on the number of cells. In contrary, increasing the total number of particles would result in a better efficiency of the PDSMC  

The mixer geometry has substantial effect on mixing performance of different micro/nanomixers. Despite past numerous studies dedicated to mixing of liquid flow streams, there are less efforts to investigate the geometry effects on gas mixing performances. In this work, we focus on gas-gas mixing through different micro/nanoscale mixers under slip and transitional flow regimes. We use the direct simulation Monte Carlo (DSMC) method to provide accurate and reliable results in such flow regimes. To extend our study, we implement different geometrical parameters in our consideration including the mixer size, the impact angle between two incoming gas streams, and the contraction height located in... 

In this paper, comprehensive numerical studies are performed to investigate the effects of the geometrical factors on the performance of the low-pressure gas actuator. The flow feature and force generation mechanism inside a rectangular enclosure with heat and cold arms as the non-isothermal walls are inclusively discussed. Also, comprehensive parametric studies are done to reveal the effects of physical parameters on the performance and characteristics of this device in different operating conditions. In this study, the Knudsen number is varied from 0.1 to 4.5 to investigate all characteristics of the thermal-driven force inside the MEMS sensor. In order to simulate a rarefied gas inside... 

This work investigates the species separation in the rarefied flow of the argon-helium mixture through convergent-divergent micronozzles. Imposing a molecular mass ratio in the order of 10, the flow of this mixture can lead to the formation of serious nonhomogeneous phenomena such as the species separation. This study is performed in the ranges of 2.0-4.0 for the geometrical expansion ratio, 200-400 K for the wall temperature, and 0.003-1.454 for the inlet Knudsen number. The effects of these parameters are examined on the separative performances of micronozzle. The direct simulation Monte Carlo method is selected as the solution method because it can provide reliable solutions in the... 

This paper concern is to study the gas properties effect in flow and heat transfer behaviors through microchannels using the direct simulation Monte Carlo method. The flow is rarefied and supersonic. The channels are investigated at two different inlet boundary conditions. The collision process is modeled using the NTC (no-time-counter) scheme. The VHS model is chosen to simulate collision between particle pairs. The study is provided for many different gases including nitrogen, helium, and oxygen. The Knudsen number is chosen in a manner to provide slip flow through the channel. The results show that the heat transfer from the wall is lower for heavier gases. A comparative study among the... 

We use a direct simulation Monte Carlo (DSMC) method to simulate gas heating/cooling and choked subsonic flows in micro/nanoscale channels subject to either constant wall temperature or constant/variable heat flux boundary conditions. We show the effects of applying various boundary conditions on the mass flow rate and the flow parameters. We also show that it is necessary to add a buffer zone at the end of the channel if we wish to simulate more realistic conditions at the channel outlet. We also discuss why applying equilibrium-based Maxwellian distribution on molecules coming from the channel outlet, where the flow is nonequilibrium, will not disturb the DSMC solution. The current... 

In this work, we study the gas mixing behavior in a micro T-mixer using the direct simulation Monte Carlo (DSMC) method. The gas mixing process is monitored through a T-mixer, which is fed by two different CO and N2 gases; flowing into the T-mixer through the upper and lower inlets. We investigate the effects of axial and lateral wall temperature gradients on the mixing evolution at different rarefaction levels. The achieved results show that any temperature difference between the channel walls would result in an increase in mixing length for the chosen wall temperature gradient ranges and the studies pressure cases. Our observations show that a positive temperature gradient toward the... 

In high Knudsen number flow regimes microgas flow analysis may not be performed accurately using the classical CFD methods. Alternatively, the gas flow through micro-geometries can be investigated reliably using the direct simulation Monte Carlo (DSMC) method. Our concern in this paper is to use DSMC to study the mixing of two gases in entering simultaneously into a microchannel. The mixing process is assumed to be complete when the mass composition of each species deviates by no more than ±1% from its equilibrium composition. To enhance the mixing process, we focus on the effects of inlet-outlet pressure difference and the pressure ratios of the two incoming CO and N2 streams on the mixing... 

We use the direct simulation Monte Carlo (DSMC) method and investigate the subsonic rarefied gas flow through micro/nanochannels, imposing a constant pressure ratio and a constant temperature difference between the inflow and wall temperature. We further study the heat transfer characteristics of subsonic nitrogen gas flow under this imposed temperature difference. We show that, specifying a higher temperature magnitude would lead to more rarefactions even imposing a fixed temperature difference. This consequently results in a higher wall heat flux rate for a fixed inflow-wall temperature difference. Our investigating shows that the number of simulated particles need to increase suitably if... 

Microfilters are commonly used to block undesirable particles in the fluid flows and to control the flow patterns in MEMS. The main purpose of this study is to understand the effect of gas type on density, pressure, Mach number, and velocity distributions of fluid flows through a microfilter. The Knudsen number is the slip flow regime passing through the microfilter. We use direct simulation Monte Carlo (DSMC) method to simulate the flow of nitrogen, helium, oxygen, air and methane passing through a specific microfilter. The geometry of microfilter is unique in all cases. Our results confirm that every gas performs a different performance passing through a specific microfilter, and that the... 

In this study, we present a vast boundary condition treatment to simulate gas flow through microfilters using direct simulation Monte Carlo (DSMC) method. We examine the effects of different boundary condition treatments on the density, pressure, and velocity distributions and suggest the best conditions to simulate gas flow through microfilters. We also refine the effects of upstream and downstream locations on the solution. The results show that uniform distributions can be achieved if we apply the inlet/outlet boundary condition at appropriate upstream and downstream distances. We also show that all the suggested boundary conditions suitably predict the pressure drop coefficient factor... 

We present the rarefaction effects on diffusive mass transport in micro- and nanoscales using the results of direct simulation Monte Carlo DSMC method. Unlike the previous investigations, the momentum and heat contributions are eliminated from the computations via uniform velocity, pressure, and temperature field considerations. The effects of global Knudsen number on the diffusion phenomenon are studied for the same Peclet number and a unique mixer shape. The results indicate that there is considerable weakening in diffusion mechanism for high Knudsen number cases. As a result, the non-dimensional diffusive mass fluxes would decrease and the non-dimensional mixing length would increase as... 

Direct Simulation Monte Carlo (DSMC) method is applied to evaluate the performance of a new micro gas sensor (MIKRA) for mass analysis of ammonia in the rarefied gas. In order to simulate a rarefied gas inside the micro gas detector, Boltzmann equation is applied to obtain high precision results. This study performed comprehensive studies to reveal the main mechanism of force generation and applied this for the analysis of the gas mixture. Our findings show that value of generated Knudsen force significantly varies when the percentage of the NH3 varies in the mixture. According to obtained results, the maximum Knudsen force increases when the fraction of the ammonia decreases. Our findings... 

This work utilizes the direct simulation Monte Carlo (DSMC) calculations and examines the influence of rarefication on the mixing length and effective diffusion coefficient in a two-species mixing problem. There have been efforts in past rarefied mixing flow studies to bridge between the mixing evolution rate and Knudsen number. A careful review of those efforts shows that the past derived relations did not determine the weights of Reynolds (or Peclet) number in the rarefaction influences. Although they indicated that an increase in Knudsen would decrease the mixing length, such reductions were primarily due to the Reynolds (or Peclet) reduction. Therefore, those studies could not explicitly... 

In this study, the supersonic and choked subsonic flows through micro/nano channels are investigated using direct simulation Monte Carlo (DSMC) method. The supersonic case is simulated at different Knudsen numbers covering slip to transition flow regimes, while the effects of inlet Mach and back pressure are studied in details. The inlet/outlet pressure boundary conditions are suitably implemented benefiting from the basics of characteristics theory. A behavior similar to the one predicted by the Fanno theory is observed here; i.e., the supersonic flow velocity decelerates up to a choking condition where any further increase in Knudsen number is impossible unless strong normal/oblique shocks...