Hybrid numerical approach to study the interaction of the rarefied gas flow in a microchannel with a cantilever

Abstract

Abstract Numerical approach and computer code are developed to study 2D rarefied gas flow in a microchannel having an elastic obstacle. A Couette rarefied gas flow passing an elastic beam clamped to the fixed bottom wall is considered as a test case. The gas flow is simulated by the direct simulation Monte Carlo (DSMC) method applying the advanced Simplified Bernoulli Trial (SBT) scheme. The elastic obstacle is modelled as a geometrically nonlinear Euler–Bernoulli beam. The beam displacements and velocities are synchronized in both models. The proposed approach guarantees a full coupling of gas–elastic beam interaction for unlimited time of simulation. The influence of the gas flow on the beam vibration is studied for a long period of simulation. The amplitude of vibration and the frequency response functions are strongly influenced by the velocity of the flow.