An Introduction to Computational Fluid Dynamics and Its Application in Microfluidics

Abstract

The chapter aims to introduce the computational fluid dynamics (CFD). A review was provided, outlining its development and applications on chemical engineering and microfluidics. The fundamental points of the CFD, listing the advantages and precautions of this numerical technique were provided. The description of CFD methodology including the three essential stages (pre-processing, solving, and post-processing) was made. The fundamental transport equations—total mass (continuity), momentum, energy, and species mass balances—and the usual boundary conditions used in CFD were explained. The main approaches used in multicomponent single-phase flows, single-phase flow in porous media, and multiphase flows in microscale were detailed, as well as the numerical mesh types and its quality parameters. A brief introduction of finite volume method (FVM) used by most of the available CFD codes was also performed, describing the main numerical solution features. Finally, the conclusions and future prospects of CFD applications are exposed.