Theoretical Investigation of Rarefied Gas Dynamics of Monoatomic Gas, Gas Mixtures, and Chemically Reacting Gases and Fluid-Structure Interaction in micro/nano systems
Project KP-06-N32/6, with the National Science Fund of Bulgaria
Research area, of the project: Mathematical Sciences and Informatics, Physical Sciences, Chemical Sciences, Technical Sciences
Project leader: Assic. Prof. Dr. Kiril Shterev.
Project period: 2019 – 2022
During the last decade, the development of micro-electromechanical systems (MEMS) increased dramatically. The main driver for this development appears the fundamental research (experimental and theoretical) that generate necessary new knowledge and ideas about the physical processes occurring in Micro-Electro-Mechanical Systems.
To adequately describe the non-equilibrium processes and phenomena in MEMS is necessary to use new approaches, methods and knowledge of the kinetic theory, statistical and quantum physics to investigate the relationship and transition between continua and discrete environments, as well as emerging phenomena in intermediate states.
In the project proposal we plan to study the phenomena and processes in micro/nano gas flows which, in our opinion, have not been examined in substance or tested, but not sufficiently so far. These are rarefied gas flows of gas mixtures and chemically reacting gases in micro/nano-sized areas. Particular attention will be paid to the Fluid-Structure interaction in microfluidics. The team of this project for the first time presented a mathematical model and obtained the results of the fully coupled interaction of elastic beam and rarefied gas simulated by the method DSMC (Direct Monte Carlo Statistical Method). In this project it is planned to investigate the influence between the parameters of the rarefied gas flow and frequencies of vibration of small elastic beams.
The following key objectives are identified:
1. To explore and gain new knowledge of the rarefied gas flows of monoatomic gas, gas mixtures, and chemically reacting gases in microchannels with simple and complex geometry.
2. To develop mathematical models and examine fluid-structure interaction of rarefied gas and elastic beam where we will consider the impact of discrete fluctuations and micro impulses caused by the molecular structure of the gas on the characteristic frequencies of vibration of small elastic beams of various shapes (micro-consoles and plates – cantilevers in micro system).
Molecular (DSMC) and continuum models will be used for the modeling of the gas flows. The elastic element will be modelled as an elastic beam or an elastic rectangular plate. In both cases, geometrically nonlinear versions of beam or plate theory will be used (Euler-Bernoulli or Timoshenko in the case of beam and Kirchhoff or Reissner-Mindlin in the case of plate). The numerical implementation of project tasks requires large computational resources and will therefore be implemented and computed on clusters with CPU and GPU processors.
The results will be used in the design and optimization of micro-electro-mechanical systems as well as from our European partners