Computational Study of Rarefied Gas Flow and Heat Transfer in Lid-driven Cylindrical Cavities

TL;DR

This study uses numerical simulations to analyze heat transfer and gas flow in cylindrical lid-driven cavities across various regimes, revealing effects like counter-gradient heat transfer and the influence of boundary conditions, aiding MEMS/NEMS design.

Contribution

It introduces a detailed numerical analysis of rarefied gas flow and heat transfer in cylindrical cavities with different geometries and boundary conditions, advancing MEMS/NEMS understanding.

Findings

Counter-gradient heat transfer observed under non-equilibrium conditions

Impact of cavity shape and boundary conditions on flow fields

Influence of rarefaction and viscous effects on heat transfer

Abstract

The gas flow characteristics in lid-driven cavities are influenced by several factors, such as cavity geometry, gas properties, and boundary conditions. In this study, the physics of heat and gas flow in cylindrical lid-driven cavities with various cross-sections, including fully or partially rounded edges, is investigated through numerical simulations using the direct simulation Monte Carlo (DSMC) and the discrete unified gas kinetic scheme (DUGKS) methods. The thermal and fluid flow fields are systematically studied for both constant and oscillatory lid velocities, for various degrees of gas rarefaction ranging from the slip to the free-molecular regimes. The impact of expansion cooling and viscous dissipation on the thermal and flow fields, as well as the occurrence of counter-gradient heat transfer (also known as anti-Fourier heat transfer) under non-equilibrium conditions, are explained based on the results obtained from numerical simulations. Furthermore, the influence of the incomplete tangential accommodation coefficient on the thermal and fluid flow fields is discussed. A comparison is made between the thermal and fluid flow fields predicted in cylindrical cavities and those in square-shaped cavities. The present work contributes to the advancement of micro/nano-electromechanical systems (MEMS/NEMS) by providing valuable insights into rarefied gas flow and heat transfer in lid-driven cavities.