DSMC calculations of binary gas mixing in simple micro-sized configurations

Abstract

The Direct Simulation Monte Carlo (DSMC) method is employed to model and simulate the mixing of two non-reactive gas streams in a simple two-dimensional micro-mixer. The efficiency of the mixing process in a mixer is related to the mixing length, which is the distance measured from the beginning of the mixing chamber to the point that the mixture is found to be homogeneous. A new method to measure homogeneity is presented. It has been found that the boundary conditions at the walls and the inlets, the molecular models and the physical properties of the gas species may influence the mixing process at different scales. Their level of influence on the efficiency of the mixer is presented. © 2019 Author(s).