Separation of a binary gas mixture outflowing into vacuum through a micronozzleстатья
Статья опубликована в высокорейтинговом журнале
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Дата последнего поиска статьи во внешних источниках: 25 августа 2021 г.
Аннотация:Present paper studies separation phenomenon for argon-helium mixture outflowing through a convergent-divergent micronozzle into vacuum. We numerically investigate the effect of geometrical parameters of the micronozzle and gas rarefaction (Knudsen number is varied in range 0.01-100). Simulations were performed using the event-driven molecular dynamics (EDMD) method. Performed analysis revealed several interesting and important features of separation process. First of all, it was shown separation in present problem results mainly from lateral component, which appears when significant curvature of gas streamlines is present. Second of all, it was demonstrated how fine tuning of micronozzle geometry can enhance separation efficiency. At the same time the simplest microslit arrangement (a microchannel without converging and diverging parts) was shown to provide results comparable to micronozzles and may be preferable due to its manufacturing simplicity. Then, it was shown that position of product gas selector is crucial for effective separation and its proper placement brings more influence than geometry of micronozzle itself. Finally, it was shown that maximal purity of product gas can be obtained in peripheral area in transitional and slip flow regimes inside micronozzle. Therefore, for effective separation there is no need to achieve high rarefaction levels inside micronozzle.