Pressure drop calculation for single phase liquid flows in rectangular bifurcated microchannels

Mila Avelino¹; Jordana Colman²; Flávio Amado¹

¹ UNESA; ² UFRJ

doi:10.20906/CPS/CON-2016-1268

Resumo

The use of bifurcated microchannel flow passages is becoming more common in a number of industrial applications including bioengineering and oil industry. Flow behavior in geometries with small diameter passages is well documented and often relied upon in a practical system. The present work focuses on the flow of single-phase liquids in bifurcated microchannel passages. The compressibility effects, slip boundary condition, and the rarefied flow concerns do not apply for these single-phase liquid flows in microchannels. For the present work, it is assumed that the continuum assumption is valid for microchannels larger than 1.0 μm in hydraulic diameter, however, when considering pressure drop in a microchannel flow it is required to consider its explicit dependence on the hydraulic resistance. The present work evaluates pressure drop for single phase liquid flows in rectangular bifurcated microchannels, taking into account the explicit dependence on the hydraulic resistance. Hydraulic diameter and pressure drop estimation for the bifurcated microchannels are in agreement with the experimental results obtained. It is concluded that the conventional Stokes and Poiseuille flow theories apply for single-phase liquid flow in microchannel.

Palavras-chave: microfluidics; pressure drop; microchannels