INTRODUCTION TO

NANOTECHNOLOGY

An Overview of Fluid Mechanics for MEMS

-Reni Raju
MEMS (Applications)

 Accelerometers for airbags

 Micro heat exchangers
 Sensors
 Actuators
 Micropumps
NEMS (Application)

 Nanostructured Catalysts
 Drug Delivery systems
 Molecular Assembler/Replicators
 Sensors
 Magnetic Storage Applications
 Reinforced Polymers
 Nanofluids
Fluid Mechanics of MEMS

 Devices having a characteristic length of less than 1 mm but more than 1 micron.

10-16 10-14 10-12 10-10 10-8 10-6 10-4 10-2 100 102

Dia. Of Proton H-Atom Human Hair Man

Diameter

NEMS MEMS
FLUID MODELLING

 Conventional Navier Stokes with no-slip boundary conditions cannot be used.

 Pressure Gradient is non-constant along a microduct and flowrate greater than

predicted.

 Surface to volume ratio is high of the order of 10 6 m-1 for a characteristic length of 1
micron.

 Other factors like thermal creep, rarefaction, viscous dissipation, compressibility etc.
For Gases

Fluid Modeling

Molecular Modeling Continuum Models

Deterministic Statistical Euler Burnett

Navier Stokes
MD Liouville

DSMC Boltzmann
 Either as a collection of molecules or as a continuum.

 Mean Free path,

1

2n 2
 Characteristic Length,

L

y
 Knudsen Number,

  Ma
Kn  
L 2 Re
 Kn=0.0001 0.001 0.01 0.1 1 10 100

Continuum Flow Transition Regime

(Ordinary Density Levels) (Moderately Rarefied)
Slip-Flow Regime Free-Molecule Flow
(Slightly Rarefied) (Highly rarefied)

 Local value of Knudsen Number determines the degree of

rarefaction and the degree of validity of the continuum model.
CONTINUUM MODEL

 Local Properties such as Density and Velocity are averages over elements large
compared with the microscopic structure of the fluid but small enough to permit the
use of differential calculus.

 Conservation of Mass:

 
  u k   0
t xk

 Conservation of Momentum:

 ui ui   ki

  uk 
   g i
 t xk  x k
 Conversation of Energy:

 e e  qk ui

  uk 
     ki
 t xk  xk xk

 Closure:

 u u   u j 
 ki   p ki    i  k      ki
 x 
 xk xi   j 

T
qi   k  Flux(radiation )
xi

de  cv dT
p  RT
 Euler’s Equation:
 Fluid is invisicid and non-conducting,

 
  u k   0
t xk

 ui ui  p

  uk 
    g i
 t xk  x k

 T T  u k
cv 
  uk 
   p
 t xk  xk
Compressibility

 DENSITY CHANGES DUE TO TEMPERATURE

 Strong wall Heating or cooling may cause density change.

 DENSITY CHANGES DUE TO PRESSURE

 Pressure changes due to viscous effects even for Ma<0.3.

 Continuity Equation:
D u
 k 0
Dt xk

1 D Dp DT
  1 
 Dt Dt Dt  ( p, T ) 
 p T

1 
 ( p, T )  
 T p
 For Adiabatic Walls;

T  T0
T* 
 u 
Pr  0 
c 
 p0 

1 D *  Dp * Pr B * DT * 
  0 Ma 2  *  
 * Dt *  Dt * A Dt * 

A   0  0 c p 0T0 ;
B   0T0
 For Isothermal Wall;

T  T0
Tˆ 
Tw  T0

1 D * Dp *  T  T0  DTˆ
  0 Ma 2 *  B *  w 
 * Dt * Dt *  T0  Dt *
Boundary Conditions

 At the Fluid- Solid Interface

 No-slip and no-temperature jump is based on no discontinuities of
velocity/temperature.
 Continuum applicable for Kn<0.001

 Tangential Slip velocity at wall,

u
u w  u gas  u wall  
y w

 For Real gases,

2  v u
u w  u gas  u wall  
v y w
 Slip velocity & Temperature Jump,

2   v  u *  3 (  1) Kn 2 Re  T * 
u gas  u wall
* *
  *    
v  y  w 4  Ec  x *  w

2   T  2  Kn  T * 
T * gas  T wall
*
  
 T     1  Pr  y *  w

 where

 i  r
v  ,
 i  w

dEi  dEr
T 
dEi  dEw
MOLECULAR BASED MODELS

 Goal is to determine the position , velocity and state of all particles at all times.

 DETERMINISTIC MODEL:

 Particle described in the form of two body potential energy and time evolution of the
molecular positions by integrating Newton’s Law of motion.

 Shortcomings:

 Need to choose a proper and convenient potential for a fluid & solid combination.
 Vast computer resources.
 STATISTICAL MODEL:
 Based on probability of finding a molecule at a particular position and state.
 Six-dimensional phase space.
 Assumption, for dilute gases with binary collision with no degrees of freedom.

 Liouville equation, conservation of N-particle distribution function in 6N-dimensional

space,

 N
 N

 k .   Fk . 0
t k 1 xk k 1 xk

 Boltzmann equation for monatomic gases with binary collision,

 ( nf )  ( nf )  ( nf )
 j  Fj  J ( f , f *)
t x j x j

j  1,2,3
 Non-linear collision integral, describes the net effect of populating and depopulating
collisions on the distribution.

 4
J ( f , f *)   n ( f * f1*  ff1 ) rd(d )1
2

 0
LIQUID FLOWS

 The Average distance between the molecules approaches the molecular diameter.
 Molecules are always in collision state.
 Difficult to predict.
 Non-Newtonian behaviour commences,

u
   2 1
y

 Contradictory results in experimental data and modelling.

 MD seems to be the best option available.
 Based on MD, the degree of slip increases as the relative wall density increases or
the strength of the wall-fluid coupling decreases.
 Slip length,

  
Ls  Lo 1 
  c 

SURFACE PHENOMENA

 Surface to Volume ratio for 1 micron is 10 6 m-1.

 High Radiative and Convective Heat transfer.

 Increased importance to surface forces and waning importance of body forces.
 Significant cohesive intermolecular forces between surface, stiction independent of
device mass.
 Adsorbed layer.
 Surface tension and nonlinear volumetric intermolecular forces.
Fluid Mechanics for NEMS

 Nanofluids - thermal conductivity fluids.

 Possibility of applying Continuum Model for low Knudsen number.(?)

 Model applicability to Dense and rare gas.

 Possible treatment of Liquids as dense gas at Nano scale.(?)

 Importance of Quantum Mechanics.

 Importance of Surface Phenomenon's.

TASKS AHEAD

 Modeling using the Continuum model for the Slip Flow Regime Knudsen Numbers.

 Understanding the mechanics of Nano-scaled Domains.

 Arriving at a suitable modeling technique comparable with the experimental data (if
available.)