Morphology Effect of Surface Structures on Microchannel Flow Using Lattice Boltzmann Method

Abstract EN

Microchannel flow shows a fascinating background on a lot of engineering problems.

In order to shed a light on the effect of the surface morphology of microchannels on fluid flow, differently shaped and arranged artificial elements constitute channels with different morphology and numerical simulation based on lattice Boltzmann method is conducted.

The impact of micro effect is also stressed by comparing the results considering and not considering it in the same channel model.

Analysis of flow details shows the difference of the morphology effect on fluid flow, which differs by the shape and density of the elements’ array.

The permeability of channels shows a specific relationship with the density of artificial elements, and differences are found between varied shapes and the existence of micro effects.

Further research is carried based on more complex channels with arrays of fractal-character artificial elements.

As elements in the channel can be divided into main summits and subsummits, their different roles of the effect on the fluid flow is investigated.

The result shows that the permeability will not change if main summits are kept in channels while all subsummits are removed to make a distinct simplification of the morphology.

This discovery is furtherly ensured numerically by a test on a channel created with the profile of a rough rock surface.

The finding for morphology effect on fluid flow can supply a reference for the prediction of the permeability of complex channels or fractures.