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High Knudsen number fluid flow at near-standard temperature and pressure conditions using precision nanochannels

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Abstract

Gas flows over a wide range of Knudsen numbers (~0.5–10) are studied using silicon nanochannel arrays with slit-shaped pores. The pore sizes of the silicon nanochannel arrays range from micrometer to sub-10-nm scales. The flows are generated under conditions of room temperature and near-atmospheric pressure (~22°C and ~101–115 kPa) and span the continuum flow, continuum-slip flow, transition flow and free-molecular flow regimes. The measured flow rates of helium, argon and carbon dioxide are in good agreement with a theoretical model (Unified Slip Model) proposed by Beskok and Karniadakis (Nanoscale Microscale Thermophys Eng 3:43–77, 1999).

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Abbreviations

STP:

Standard temperature and pressure

USM:

Unified slip model

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Acknowledgments

The authors would like to thank the following people for their assistance: Anna Dubnisheva and Illya Gordon at the Cleveland Clinic for fabrication and testing supplies, respectively; and David Jacqmin of NASA Glenn Research Center for discussions on experimental setup. This project was partially supported by grants from the NASA John Glenn Biomedical Engineering Consortium and a NIH Grant R01EB008049 administered by the NIBIB.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Departments of Nephrology and Hypertension and Biomedical Engineering, Cleveland Clinic, 9500 Euclid Avenue, Cleveland, OH, 44195, USA

    William H. Fissell

  2. Department of Mechanical Engineering, The Ohio State University, 201 West 19th Avenue, Columbus, OH, 43210, USA

    A. T. Conlisk & Subhra Datta

  3. Department of Biomedical Engineering, Cleveland Clinic, 9500 Euclid Avenue, Cleveland, OH, 44195, USA

    Jeffrey M. Magistrelli & Aaron J. Fleischman

  4. Department of Chemical Engineering, Case Western Reserve University , 10900 Euclid Avenue, Cleveland, OH, 44106, USA

    Jeffrey M. Magistrelli

  5. Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Duke University, 110 Science Drive, Durham, NC, 27708, USA

    Jeffrey T. Glass

  6. Department of Bioengineering and Therapeutic Sciences, University of California, San Francisco, 1700 4th Street, San Francisco, CA, 94158-2330, USA

    Shuvo Roy

Authors
  1. William H. Fissell
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  2. A. T. Conlisk
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  3. Subhra Datta
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  4. Jeffrey M. Magistrelli
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  5. Jeffrey T. Glass
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  6. Aaron J. Fleischman
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  7. Shuvo Roy
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Correspondence to A. T. Conlisk.

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Fissell, W.H., Conlisk, A.T., Datta, S. et al. High Knudsen number fluid flow at near-standard temperature and pressure conditions using precision nanochannels. Microfluid Nanofluid 10, 425–433 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10404-010-0682-4

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10404-010-0682-4

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