Laminar flow through microchannels used for microscale cooling systems

Microchannel cooling is one the prospective microscale cooling methods that can meet future needs. Many theoretical and experimental studies have been reported in the past decade. This paper presents an experimental study on the laminar flow of liquid through microchannels with different cross-sections. The experimental results for circular micropipes agree well with theoretical predictions for conventional ducts. The values of fRe (Darcy friction factor-Reynolds number product) for laminar flow of liquid in the silicon microchannels with noncircular cross-sections are smaller than those of the conventional values. The surface roughness of the silicon microchannels fabricated by surface and bulk micromachining processes is also measured. The turbulent flow and heat transfer characteristics in microchannels are to be studied in the next phase of research.