Numerical simulation of flow through microchannels with designed roughness

A three-dimensional numerical simulation of flow through serpentine microchannels with designed roughness in form of obstructions placed along the channels walls is conducted here. CFD-ACE+ is used for the numerical simulations. The effect of the roughness height (surface roughness), geometry, Reynolds number on the friction factor is investigated. It is found that the friction factor increases in a nonlinear fashion with the increase in obstruction height. The friction factor is more for rectangular and triangular obstructions and it decreases as the obstruction geometry is changed to trapezoidal. It is observed that the obstruction geometry, i.e., aspect ratio plays an important role in prediction of friction factor in rough channels. It is also found that the pressure drop decreases with the increase in the roughness pitch. Hence, the roughness pitch is an important design parameter for microchannels.