1D Homogeneous Modeling of Microchannel Two-Phase Flow With Distributed Liquid Water Injection From Walls

Abstract

This paper presents a theoretical model and a numerical simulation of a liquid-gas two-phase flow within a microchannel (50 μm × 500 μm × 2cm) equipped with distributed liquid water injection through the side walls. The modeling and solution of the conservation equations provide pressure drop as a function of inlet velocity. The influence of different parameters involving water injection is investigated, such as the quantity of water that is injected and the profile that is used to inject it. The numerical results show that for small water injection rates (1–10μL/min) the air flow velocity and pressure drop are not significantly perturbed by the presence of liquid water. But if water injection becomes important (10–100μL/min) larger pressure drops are observed. The influence of inlet pressure is also investigated. The model predictions are compared with experimental results obtained from testing a set of microchannels with a varying number of water injection slots on the side walls. Pressure drop distribution data from these experiments are consistent with model predictions.

Two-Phase Microfluidics for Semiconductor Circuits and Fuel Cells (Keynote)

“…The first, the homogeneous model, treats the flow as a homogenous fluid [27] with properties that are the massweighted averages of the local properties of the liquid and the vapor. These properties are used to evaluate the incompressible Navier-Stokes and energy equations for a single fluid [28].…”