Micro-Tapered-Tubes Flow Analysis via DSMC and Experimental Methods

Abstract A numerical and experimental analysis was performed on pressure-driven flows through micro-tapered tubes, which were fabricated using Two-Photon Polymerization additive manufacturing. Special emphasis was placed on the crucial role of uncertainties associated with the geometric size characterization. The constant volume technique was employed for experimental characterization, and nitrogen was used as the working gas. The DSMC method was utilized for the numerical part. The mass flow rate results show a good agreement between experiments and DSMC, within the numerical and experimental uncertainties. This study highlights the importance of DSMC as an effective tool for flow characterization in 3D microscale structures and of the TPP as a novel manufacturing technique for complex microfluidic devices working with rarefied gas flows.