Roughness-Induced Effect at Main Order on the Reynolds Approximation

Usually the Stokes equations that govern a flow in a smooth thin domain (with thickness of order ) are related to the Reynolds equation for the pressure psmooth. In this paper, we show that for a rough thin domain (with rugosities of order 2 ) the flow is governed by a modified Reynolds equation for a pressure prough. Moreover we find the relation prough = K psmooth where K is an explicit coefficient depending only on the form of the rugosities and on the viscosity of the fluid. In some sense, we see that the flow may be accelerated using adequate rugosity profiles on the bottom. The limit system is mathematically justified through a variant of the notion of two-scale convergence: The originality and difficulty being the anisotropy in the height profile. AMS Classification: 35Q30, 76A20, 76D08, 78M35, 78M40. Key words: Thin films, Stokes and Reynolds equations, rough boundaries, homogeneization, two-scale convergence, micro-fluidic.

• Type: Journal
• Year: 2010
• Where: MMAS
• Authors: Didier Bresch, Catherine Choquet, Laurent Chupin, Thierry Colin, Marguerite Gisclon
• Keywords: Intelligent Agents, MMAS 2010, Modified Reynolds Equation, Reynolds Equations, Two-scale Convergence