Simulation of Gas Flow in a Microchannel by Lattice Boltzmann method

Abstract

In recent years, microflow has become a popular field of interest due to the appearance of microelectromechanical systems(MEMS). Generally, the Navier-Stokes equations cannot adequately describe gas flows in the transition and free-molecular regimes. In these regimes, the Boltzmann equation of kinetic theory is applied to govern the flows. However, this equation cannot be solved easily, either by analytical techniques or by numerical methods. In this work, the lattice Boltzmann method is applied to simulate the two-dimensional isothermal pressure driven microchannel flow. This method is regarded as a numerical approach for solving the Boltzmann equation in discrete velocity. we has been applied for rarefied shear-driven and pressure driven flows between parallel plates at Knudsen numbers between 0.01 and 1.0. Our numerical results correspond well with those obtained analytically and experimentally. From this study, we may conclude that the lattice Boltzmann method is an efficient approach for simulation of microflows.