Modelling of Laminar Flows in Rough-Wall Microchannels

Roland Bavière (1) , Gabriel Gamrat (1) , Michel Favre-Marinet (1) , Stéphane Le Person (1)

1 LEGI - Laboratoire des Écoulements Géophysiques et Industriels [Grenoble]

Numerical modeling and analytical approach were used to compute laminar flows in rough-wall microchannels. Both models considered the same arrangements of rectangular prism rough elements in periodical arrays. The numerical results confirmed that the flow is independent of the Reynolds number in the range 1–200. The analytical model needs only one constant for most geometrical arrangements. It compares well with the numerical results. Moreover, both models are consistent with experimental data. They show that the rough elements drag is mainly responsible for the pressure drop across the channel in the upper part of the relative roughness range.

Mots clés: laminar flow; microchannel flow; drag

Domaines: Mécanique des fluides [physics.class-ph]; Mécanique des fluides [physics.class-ph]

Roland Bavière, Gabriel Gamrat, Michel Favre-Marinet, Stéphane Le Person. Modelling of Laminar Flows in Rough-Wall Microchannels. Journal of Fluids Engineering, 2006, 128, pp.734-741. ⟨10.1115/1.2201635⟩. ⟨hal-00204663⟩