Gas flow characteristics in straight silicon microchannels

Experiments have been conducted to investigate nitrogen gas flow characteristics through four trapezoidal silicon microchannels with different hydraulic diameters. The volume flow rate and pressure ratio are measured in the experiments. It is found that the friction coefficient is no longer a constant, which is different from the conventional theory. The characteristics are first explained by the theoretical analysis. A simplified rectangular model (rectangular straight channel model) is then proposed. The experimental results are compared with the theoretical predictions based on the simplified rectangular model and the two-dimensional flow between the parallel-plate model which was usually used. The difference between the experimental data and the theoretical predictions is found in the high-pressure ratio cases. The influence of the gas compressibility effect based on the Boltzmann gas kinetic analysis method is studied to interpret the discrepancy. We discuss two important factors affecting the application extent of different prediction models.