Coupled fluid-thermo-structures simulation methodology for MEMS applications

A coupled fluid-thermo-structures solution methodology is being developed for application to MEMS. State-of-the-art computational methods are used for simulation of a wide variety of MEMS types and configurations. The proposed software is aimed to be powerful and accurate, yet simple and quick enough to be included in the design cycles of microfluidic devices for performance predictions and device optimization. A distinct feature of the present computational methodology is the fully implicit numerical coupling between all disciplines. A description of the various solver modules is presented. The accuracy of the current software is validated on a benchmark quality experiments of a flow in a microchannel and fluid-structure interaction case. The versatility is demonstrated on two practical microfluidic devices.