Numerical Simulation of Turbulent Subsonic Compressible Flow through Rectangular Microchannel

In this study, turbulent compressible gas flow in a rectangular micro-channel is numerically investigated. The gas flow assumed to be in the subsonic regime up to Mach number about 0.7. Five low and high Reynolds number RANS turbulence models are used for modeling the turbulent flow. Two types of mesh are generated depending on the employed turbulence model. The computations are performed for Reynolds number up to 19000 and two inlet pressures of 1102 kPa and 499 kPa. The longitudinal variations of flow characteristics such as pressure, temperature, Mach number and friction factor are investigated. The experimental data are also used for the sake of comparison and to find which turbulence model has the best performance. The results show that the turbulence models with wall functions have generally better agreement with the experimental data than those one without wall function. The numerical results are different for normal size pipe flow.