Chengbin Zhang

Optimal surface fractal dimension for heat and fluid flow in microchannels

The fractal Weierstrass–Mandelbrot function was introduced to characterize the multiscale self-affine rough surface of microchannels. Based on this fractal characterization, the role of the rough surface structure on the thermal and hydrodynamic properties in microchannels was evaluated using a computational fluid dynamic simulation. Once identified, these were used to determine the optimal surface dimension for heat and fluid flow. It was found that, no matter what the Reynolds number and roughness height are, the flow heat transfer performance is being optimized with increasing fractal dimension of the surface until to the dimension value of three (infinitely crumpled).

Slip boundary for fluid flow at rough solid surfaces

A molecular dynamics simulation of slip boundary for fluid flow past a solid surface incorporating roughness effect as characterized by fractal geometry has been conducted with a focus on the origin of slip, fluid structure, and slip boundary flow. The results indicate that interfacial slip develops provided that the wall is effectively uncorrugated. Compared with the atomically smooth surface, extra viscous dissipation is induced for shear flow past a rough surface and leading to a reduction in boundary slip. In particular, we find that a more irregular topography decreases the boundary slip even for the same statistical roughness height.

Thermal Characteristics of Heat Pipe with Axially Swallow-tailed Microgrooves

Abstract A thermal model for a heat pipe with axially swallow-tailed microgrooves is developed and analyzed numerically to predict the heat transfer capacity and total thermal resistance. The effect of heat load on the axial distribution of capillary radius, and the effect of working temperature and wick structure on the maximum heat transfer capability, as well as the effect of the heat load and working temperature on the total thermal resistance are all investigated and discussed. It is indicated that the meniscus radius increases non-linearly and slowly at the evaporator and adiabatic section along the axial direction, while increasing drastically at the beginning of the condenser section. The pressure difference in the vapor phase along the axial direction is much smaller than that in the liquid phase. In addition, the heat transfer capacity is deeply affected by the working temperature and the size of the wick. A groove wick structure with a wider groove base width and higher groove depth can enhance the heat transfer capability. The effect of the working temperature on the total thermal resistance is insignificant; however, the total thermal resistance shows dependence upon the heat load. In addition, the accuracy of the model is also verified by the experiment in this paper.

STUDY ON SOLIDIFICATION OF PHASE CHANGE MATERIAL IN FRACTAL POROUS METAL FOAM

The Sierpinski fractal is introduced to construct the porous metal foam. Based on this fractal description, an unsteady heat transfer model accompanied with solidification phase change in fractal porous metal foam embedded with phase change material (PCM) is developed and numerically analyzed. The heat transfer processes associated with solidification of PCM embedded in fractal structure is investigated and compared with that in single-pore structure. The results indicate that, for the solidification of phase change material in fractal porous metal foam, the PCM is dispersedly distributed in metal foam and the existence of porous metal matrix provides a fast heat flow channel both horizontally and vertically, which induces the enhancement of interstitial heat transfer between the solid matrix and PCM. The solidification performance of the PCM, which is represented by liquid fraction and solidification time, in fractal structure is superior to that in single-pore structure.

Electroosmotic Flow in a Rough Nanochannel with Surface Roughness Characterized by Fractal Cantor

Molecular dynamics simulation is applied to study the electroosmotic flow in rough nanochannels, with particular attention given to the fluid–solid interactions. In the simulation, the surface roughness is characterized by a fractal Cantor. The roles of roughness height and fractal dimension on nanoscale electroosmotic flow are examined and analyzed. The concentration distributions, zeta potential and electroosmotic velocity are presented and investigated. The results indicate that surface roughness plays a significant role in the fluid–solid interaction and nanoscale electroosmotic flow. The distribution of dipole angle for water molecules in both the near-wall region and middle region is almost unaffected by surface roughness; however, a significant difference of dipole angle distribution is observed in the fluid region away from the wall. Interestingly, the concentration distributions, electroosmotic velocity and zeta potential are highly affected by the surface fractal dimension, even with the same roughness height.

Hydrodynamics of passing-over motion during binary droplet collision in shear flow*

A combined experimental and numerical study is undertaken to investigate the hydrodynamic characteristics of single-phase droplet collision in a shear flow. The passing-over motion of interactive droplets is observed, and the underlying hydrodynamic mechanisms are elucidated by the analysis of the motion trajectory, transient droplet deformation and detailed hydrodynamic information (e.g., pressure and flow fields). The results indicate that the hydrodynamic interaction process under shear could be divided into three stages: approaching, colliding, and separating. With the increasing confinement, the interaction time for the passing-over process is shorter and the droplet processes one higher curvature tip and more stretched profile. Furthermore, the lateral separation Δy/R 1 exhibits larger decrease in the approaching stage and the thickness of the lubrication film is decreased during the interaction. As the initial lateral separation increases, the maximum trajectory shift by the collision interaction is getting smaller. During the collision between two droplets with different sizes, the amplitude of the deformation oscillation of the larger droplet is decreased by reducing the size ratio of the smaller droplet to the bigger one.

Temperature Dynamic Characteristics of Power-Generation Cabin in Antarctic: Case Study for Dome A

AbstractWith the goal of providing basic thermal data for the thermal management of a power-generation cabin at Dome A in the Antarctic, a dynamic model of annual temperature variations in the powe...

Characterization of Surface Roughness Effects on Laminar Flow in Microchannels by Using Fractal Cantor Structures

The fractal characterization of the topography of rough surfaces by using Cantor set structures is introduced in this paper. Based on the fractal Cantor surface, a model of laminar flow in rough microchannels is developed and numerically analyzed to study the characterization of surface roughness effects on laminar flow. The effects of Reynolds number, relative roughness, and fractal dimension on laminar flow are all discussed. The results indicate that the presence of roughness leads to the form of the detachment, and eddy generation is observed at the shadow of the roughness elements. The pressure drop in the rough channel along the flow direction is no longer in a linear fashion and larger than that in the smooth channel. The fluctuation characteristic of pressure drop along the stream, which is due to the vortex formation at the wall, is found. Differing from the smooth channel, the Poiseuille number for laminar flow in rough microchannels is no longer only dependent on the cross-sectional shape of the channel, but also strongly influenced by the Reynolds number, relative roughness and fractal dimension of the surface.Copyright