A Knudsen pump operates under the thermal transpiration effect or the thermal edge effect on the micro-scale. Due to the uneven temperature distribution of the walls in the channel axis direction or the constant temperature of the tips on the walls, directional thermally-induced flow is generated. In this paper the Direct Simulation Monte Carlo (DSMC) method is applied for N2–O2 gas mixtures in the ratios of 4:1, 1:1, and 1:4 with different Knudsen numbers in a classic rectangular Knudsen pump to study the flow characteristics of the gas mixtures in the pump. The results show that the changing in the gas physical properties does not affect the distribution of the velocity field, temperature fields, or other fields in the Knudsen pump. The thermal creep effect is related to the molecular mass of the gas. Even in N2 and O2 gas mixtures with similar molecular masses, N2 can be also found to have a stronger thermal creep effect. Moreover, the lighter molecular weight gas (N2) can effectively promote the motion of the heavier gas (O2).

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The Knudsen pump (KP) is a kind of micro-pump that can form thermally induced flows induced by temperature fields in rarefied gas environments. It has the advantages of having no moving parts, simple structure, easy construction and extension, a wide range of energy sources, and low energy consumption. With the development of Micro/Nano Electro Mechanical Systems (MEMS/NEMS), extensive studies have been conducted on KPs, and the applications of KPs have widened. In order to obtain efficient flow fields in KPs, it is necessary to adopt modern computational methods for simulation and analysis. In many circumstances, the simulation and experimental results have good agreement. However, there seems to be no comprehensive review on KPs at present. In this paper, KPs are first defined and classified according to the flow mechanisms of the thermally induced flows. Then, the three aspects of configurations, performance, and applications of KPs in the current state of research are reviewed and analyzed. Finally, the current problems of KP are discussed, and some suggestions are provided for future research and applications.

Knudsen force generated by thermally driven gas flow in a microscale structure has been used for gas detection and has shown immeasurable potential in the field of microelectromechanical system (MEMS) gas sensors due to its novel sensing characteristics. In this article, the performances of three kinds of Knudsen force gas sensors with improved isosceles triangular shuttle arm structures were studied. In the first design, the top side and right side lengths were equal; in the second, the top side and bottom side lengths were equal; and for the third, the bottom side and right side lengths were equal. A detailed investigation including gas flow, thermal characteristics, Knudsen force, and coupling effects between the shuttle-heater pairs was conducted using the direct simulation Monte Carlo (DSMC) method and the main mechanisms for gas flow presented were almost the same in this work. However, the second design returned the highest Knudsen force performance. The value increased by 42.9% (P = 387 Pa) compared to the Knudsen force of the original square shuttle arm. The results also demonstrate that the coupling effects become weak toward the right with an increase in the number of shuttle-heater pairs.