Investigation of flow and heat transfer characteristics of rarefied gaseous slip flow in nonplanar micro-Couette configuration

In the present study the mechanism of transport phenomena in a low-speed rarefied gas flow confined between a shaft and its concentric housing, namely, the cylindrical Couette problem, is investigated analytically in the slip-flow regime. The incompressible Navier–Stokes–Fourier (NSF) equations in the cylindrical polar coordinate reference frame are employed while the simultaneous effects of viscous dissipation and rarefaction phenomenon are taken into account. Two different thermal boundary conditions are considered: the Uniform Heat Flux (UHF) and the Constant Wall Temperature (CWT). Solutions for the velocity and temperature distributions, the Nusselt number and the wall heat flux are obtained for different values of the Knudsen and Brinkman numbers and curvature parameter.

► We have analytically studied the rarefied cylindrical Couette flow problem.
► Solutions for the velocity and temperature profiles are obtained.
► The solution is based on the continuum approach and covers the whole slip regime.
► The Nusselt number and heat fluxes at the system boundaries are calculated.
► The effects of rarefaction, dissipation and geometric condition are studied.