An Experimental Study on Alcohol Flow in Micro-Channels

Experiments were performed to study the flow characteristics of ethanol and methanol flow in rectangular micro-channels using test models 1 and 2 (TM1, TM2). The TM1 and TM2 used were of 47 and 50 micro-channels in rectangular crosssection of equivalent diameters of 387 and 327 m respectively. The channel length of 192 mm were fabricated on a 304 stainless steel substrate (230 mm x 160 mm x 1.6 mm) by photo chemical etching process. Covering the top with another plate of 0.5 mm thickness formed the channels by vacuum brazing. The pressure drop and flow rate data were measured and used as raw data to evaluate friction factors in micro-channel. Analysis of friction factor vs Reynolds number relation indicates that friction factor for liquid flow is same as that of normal channels in the laminar region. Transition region lies in Re > 500 and transition set off at lower Re ~ 500 in comparison to normal channel. Further it may be possible to identify transition as the deviation of NDPD values from laminar region.