Publication Cover
Numerical Heat Transfer, Part A: Applications
An International Journal of Computation and Methodology
Volume 73, 2018 - Issue 5
2,075
Views
8
CrossRef citations to date
0
Altmetric
Original Articles

Numerical simulation of fluid flow and heat transfer in a trapezoidal microchannel with COMSOL multiphysics: A case study

&
Pages 332-346 | Received 02 Oct 2017, Accepted 11 Dec 2017, Published online: 22 Feb 2018
 

ABSTRACT

In this study, fluid flow and heat transfer in a trapezoidal microchannel are numerically investigated. For this purpose, a reference study with experimental and numerical solutions is adopted from the literature and solved with COMSOL multiphysics. Good agreement with the results of the reference work is obtained. In addition, effects of stabilization methods and element discretization options that are offered by the program on the results are investigated and discussed with examples. In addition, two different versions of the same program are compared on the effect of stabilization methods on results. Last, some comments on the level of relative tolerance are provided.

Nomenclature

Ac=

cross-sectional area (m2)

Cp=

specific heat of the fluid (J/kg K)

Dh=

hydraulic diameter (m)

f=

friction constant

G=

mass flux (kg/m2 s)

H=

height of microchannel (m)

k=

thermal conductivity of the fluid (W/m K)

L=

length of the microchannel (m)

Nu=

Nusselt number, Nu = qDh/(kΔT)

p=

pressure (Pa)

qeff=

effective heat flux (kW/m2)

Re=

Reynolds number, Re = ρUDh

T=

temperature (K)

=

velocity field

w=

z-component of the velocity (m/s)

Wb=

base width of microchannel (m)

Wt=

top width of microchannel (m)

Greek symbols
µ=

Dynamic viscosity (Pa s)

ρ=

density of the fluid (kg/m3)

θ=

side angle of the microchannel

Subscripts
HS=

heated surface

Po=

Poiseuille number, Po = fRe

Γ=

boundary

m=

mean

max=

maximum

w=

wall

z=

z-direction

Nomenclature

Ac=

cross-sectional area (m2)

Cp=

specific heat of the fluid (J/kg K)

Dh=

hydraulic diameter (m)

f=

friction constant

G=

mass flux (kg/m2 s)

H=

height of microchannel (m)

k=

thermal conductivity of the fluid (W/m K)

L=

length of the microchannel (m)

Nu=

Nusselt number, Nu = qDh/(kΔT)

p=

pressure (Pa)

qeff=

effective heat flux (kW/m2)

Re=

Reynolds number, Re = ρUDh

T=

temperature (K)

=

velocity field

w=

z-component of the velocity (m/s)

Wb=

base width of microchannel (m)

Wt=

top width of microchannel (m)

Greek symbols
µ=

Dynamic viscosity (Pa s)

ρ=

density of the fluid (kg/m3)

θ=

side angle of the microchannel

Subscripts
HS=

heated surface

Po=

Poiseuille number, Po = fRe

Γ=

boundary

m=

mean

max=

maximum

w=

wall

z=

z-direction

Additional information

Funding

This study was supported by the METU Scientific Research Project Fund, project no: BAP-03-02-2011-003.

Reprints and Corporate Permissions

Please note: Selecting permissions does not provide access to the full text of the article, please see our help page How do I view content?

To request a reprint or corporate permissions for this article, please click on the relevant link below:

Academic Permissions

Please note: Selecting permissions does not provide access to the full text of the article, please see our help page How do I view content?

Obtain permissions instantly via Rightslink by clicking on the button below:

If you are unable to obtain permissions via Rightslink, please complete and submit this Permissions form. For more information, please visit our Permissions help page.