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Effects of manifold geometries on flow distribution to parallel microchannels

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Abstract

For efficient scale up of microchannel devices, uniform flow distribution to parallel microchannels is very important. In the present work, a dimensionless geometric parameter indicating the optimal manifold configuration is derived through a numerical parametric study and validated by micro particle image velocimetry. It is clearly shown that the flow uniformity is maximized when the dimensionless parameter is about 0.8. This study presents a simple and systematic design methodology for a uniform flow distribution to multiple microchannels operating in parallel.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Korea Institute of Machinery and Materials, Daejeon, 305-343, Korea

    Duckjong Kim, Cheong-Hwan Yu, Seok Ho Yoon & Jun Seok Choi

Authors
  1. Duckjong Kim
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  2. Cheong-Hwan Yu
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  3. Seok Ho Yoon
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  4. Jun Seok Choi
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Duckjong Kim.

Additional information

This paper was recommended for publication in revised form by Associate Editor Jun Sang Park

Duckjong Kim is a senior researcher at Korea Institute of Machinery and Materials. He received his Ph.D degree in mechanical engineering from the Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology in 2003. His current research interests include micro/nano fluidics and thermal applications based on nano materials.

Cheong-Hwan Yu was a researcher of energy plant division at Korea Institute of Machinery and Materials. Currently, he is a research engineer at LG Electronics, Korea. His research interest includes flow control and measurement, micro- and bio fluid mechanics.

Seok Ho Yoon is a senior researcher of energy plant division at Korea Institute of Machinery and Materials. He received his Ph.D degree in School of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering from Seoul National University, Korea, in 2002. His research interest includes heat pumps, heat exchangers, and equipments of energy plant.

Junseok Choi is a principal researcher of energy plant division at Korea Institute of Machinery and Materials. He received his Ph.D degree in Mechanical Engineering from Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology. His research interest includes compact heat exchangers, and valves of energy plant.

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Kim, D., Yu, CH., Yoon, S.H. et al. Effects of manifold geometries on flow distribution to parallel microchannels. J Mech Sci Technol 25, 3069–3074 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12206-011-1220-3

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12206-011-1220-3

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