Ind. Eng. Chem. Res.

2008, 47, 7447–7455 7447

Laminar to Turbulent Transition and Heat Transfer in a Microreactor:

Mathematical Modeling and Experiments
Andrej Pohar and Igor Plazl*
UniVersity of Ljubljana, Faculty of Chemistry and Chemical Technology, AskerceVa 5, 1000 Ljubljana, SloVenia

Heat transfer of aqueous flows was studied in a Y-shaped microreactor at different flow rates. In order to
analyze the experimental data and to forecast the microreactor performance, a three-dimensional mathematical
model with convection and conduction was developed, considering the velocity profile for laminar flow at
steady state. The dependence of temperature on the thermophysical properties of water was implemented into
the mathematical model. The microreactor investigated consists of a rectangular microchannel, which is divided
into two inlet channels, a central channel, and two outlet channels. The average temperatures of water outflows
were monitored. Very good agreement with the model calculations and the experimental data was achieved
without any fitting procedure. In addition, the transition from laminar to turbulent flow was studied for different
microchannel geometries, and the results showed that the channel aspect ratio and the angle of merging of
two inlet channels substantially influence the critical Reynolds number.

1. Introduction hydraulic diameters of 133-367 µm were studied. They reported

Microprocess engineering has been developing rapidly in
recent years and has had a growing role in the chemical,
biochemical, electronic, biotechnological, and pharmaceutical
industries. The use of microreactors has been proven to have
some significant advantages over regular reactors. Microreactors
have a high surface to volume ratio and consequently highly
efficient heat transfer. The residence times of reactants are very
small, which results in increased safety in dealing with
potentially dangerous substances and reactions. They allow
precise control of process parameters and thus the means of
achieving optimal conditions for a specific chemical transforma-
tion. For many applications, isothermal or near-isothermal
operation is favorable, especially for the elimination of hot spots
due to localized reaction zones.1 Due to these unique charac-
teristics, they are especially suitable for chemical reactions that
are highly exothermic, explosive, or toxic. They provide the
means for industrial innovation as well as optimization of
existing processes. Some reactions that were previously unfea-
sible are now made possible, but successful operation of such
reactions demands deep understanding of heat transfer and fluid
flow inside the microreactor system.
1.1. Laminar to Turbulent Transition. Laminar flow is a
determining characteristic of fluid flow in a microreactor and
as such should be carefully investigated. Since microchannels
in microreactors are mostly not circular in shape due to different
fabrication processes, the evaluation of the flow characteristics
with regard to the shape of the microchannels should be
considered, as well as the effect of the channel aspect ratio. A
microreactor typically consists of inlet channels which feed
reactants into a central (reaction) channel, and the influence of
the angle of merging of inlet channels is also expected to
influence the critical Reynolds number.
There have been many studies concerning the transition from
laminar to turbulent regime in microchannels which suggested
a significant lowering of the critical Reynolds number. Peng
and Peterson2 studied rectangular microchannels and reported
the upper laminar flow border at a Reynolds number of 400. In
another work by Peng and Peterson,3 microchannels with
* To whom correspondence should be addressed. Tel.: +386-1-2419-
512. E-mail: igor.plazl@fkkt.uni-lj.si.
10.1021/ie8001765 CCC: $40.75  2008 American Chemical Society
Published on Web 08/28/2008
that the transition to turbulence occurs at Reynolds numbers as
low as 200-700. Furthermore, they showed that the transition
Reynolds numbers decrease as the hydraulic diameter decreases,
and that this holds true only for liquid flow in microchannels
with identical microchannel dimensions. Wu and Little4 found
that the transition from laminar to turbulent flow in microchan-
nels with hydraulic diameters ranging from 50 to 80 µm
occurred much earlier than predicted by the classical macroscale
theory, at Reynolds numbers of about 400-900 for various
tested configurations.
Xu et al.5 considered liquid flow within microchannels of
hydraulic diameters between 30 and 344 µm. Their results
agreed with the conventional macroscale behavior predicted by
the Navier-Stokes equation. They concluded that, for liquid
flow in microchannels, any special microeffect due to the very
small dimensions would not be so significant as to make
conventional theories unsuitable for the prediction of flow
characteristics in channels with hydraulic diameters bigger than
30 µm. They also suggested that deviations in earlier studies
may have resulted from measurement errors and were not due
to novel phenomena at the microscale level.
The transition from laminar to turbulent flow in glass
microtubes with diameters ranging from 50 to 247 µm was
studied by Sharp and Adrian.6 Their experiments consisted of
the observation of flow resistance, pressure drop, and velocity
fluctuations measured by microparticle image velocimetry
(micro-PIV). The results conclusively showed that the transition
to turbulence begins in virtually the same Reynolds number
range as that found for macroscale flow (1800-2300). The
behavior of the flow in microtubes, down to 50 µm in diameter,
was proven to be consistent with the classical theory. Similarly,
Choi et al.7 found that the transition to turbulent flow for glass
microtubes of 53 and 81 µm in diameter occurred at Re ) 2000.
They also found that the value decreases for smaller microtubes,
being 500 for 9.7 and 6.9 µm in diameter.
Wibel and Ehrhard8 conducted experiments on the laminar
to turbulent transition of liquid flows in rectangular microchan-
nels. Three different aspect ratios (1:1, 1:2, 1:5) with the
hydraulic diameter of 133 µm were used as well as two different
surface roughnesses (1-2 and 25 µm). Their conclusions were
7448 Ind. Eng. Chem. Res., Vol. 47, No. 19, 2008
that the laminar to turbulent transition for smooth channels was
the same for all aspect ratios and in agreement with findings
for macroscopic channels (Re ) 1900-2200). Rough channel
walls, on the other hand, had a substantial effect on the critical
Reynolds number of the microchannel with the 1:5 aspect ratio,
lowering the value to 900.
Guo and Li9 studied the size effect on microscale single-
phase flow and heat transfer. They showed that, for a given
relative roughness, the number of roughness elements per unit
channel length is much larger for microchannels, which gener-
ates more frequent disturbances of the channel flow, resulting
in an increased friction factor. The disturbances cause an early
transition from laminar to turbulent flow when the Reynolds
number is high enough. Papautsky et al.,10 in a review of laminar
flow in microchannels, reported that no reliable range of the
Reynolds number for turbulence transition has been reported.
They expressed the need for additional experimental investiga-
tions using microchannels of various dimensions and surface
roughnesses.
1.2. Heat Transfer. Similar heat transfer studies were
conducted on microheat sinks, used for the cooling of Micro-
Electro Mechanical Systems, but a number of discrepancies exist
between the results of various investigations. The experimental
results vary with different researchers and the derived empirical
correlations are only applicable for a particular channel aspect
ratio and fabrication process.11,12
Qu and Mudawar13 studied three-dimensional heat transfer
in microchannel heat sinks. Their results provided a detailed
description of heat transfer characteristics, but with the assump-
tion of constant fluid thermophysical properties. The classical
fin model was used for the numerical investigation; however,
some key assumptions applied in the model deviate significantly
from the real situation, which reduces the accuracy of such
results. Peng and Peterson2 analyzed convective heat transfer
of water in microchannels and found that the cross-sectional
shape of channels influences heat transfer characteristics.
Li et al.11 conducted a three-dimensional analysis of heat
transfer in a silicon-based microheat sink with single-phase flow.
Their results validated the assumption of hydrodynamic, fully
developed laminar flow. They also suggested that the thermo-
physical properties of the liquid can significantly influence both
the flow and heat transfer in the microchannel heat sink. Lee et
al.12 found that numerical simulations based on a conventional
Navier-Stokes analysis accurately predict the thermal behavior
in single-phase flow through rectangular microchannels. The
numerical predictions compared to the experimental results
showed an average deviation of only 5%. They also expressed
the need to carefully match the entrance and boundary conditions
for the simulation with an experiment for each specific case.
The average fluid temperature of the inlet and outlet was used
for the calculation of thermal properties, which were assumed
constant over the range of 20-70 °C. Furthermore, the
conduction effect in the solid substrate was neglected.
Federov and Viskanta14 developed a three-dimensional model
to investigate flow and conjugate heat transfer in a microchannel-
based heat sink for electronic packaging applications. Their
study provided an insight into the heat flow pattern due to
combined convection-conduction effects and with the assump-
tion of incompressible Navier-Stokes equations of motion. The
model predictions proved to be consistent with the measure-
ments. Their method of solution was also the classical fin
analysis, which only provides a simplified means to modeling
heat transfer. One of the key assumptions is that the temperature
is uniform at any given channel cross section. Norton et al.1
Figure 1. (a) Scheme of the microreactor used for studying heat transfer,
(b) shape of the microchannels used for studying laminar to turbulent
transition, and (c) 150 × 50 µm channel with a 90° angle of merging of
inlet channels.
studied thermal management in catalytic microreactors. They
found that the assumption of thermal uniformity inside a
microreactor is not valid, but is highly dependent on the reactor
material, the reactor geometry, and the flow rate.
In this study, six different microreactors were analyzed for
the critical Reynolds number. Five microreactors with rectan-
gular cross sections in the dimensions 110 × 50 µm, 220 × 50
µm, 440 × 100 µm, 660 × 100 µm, and 1000 × 100 µm had
a parallel merging of the inlet channels. The sixth microreactor,
with a 150 × 50 µm cross section, had the two inlet channels
merging at an angle of 90°. The roughness of the channel walls
was approximately 1 µm for the 50 µm deep channels and 2
µm for the 100 µm deep channels, due to the fabrication process
(HF etching). HF etching is one of the most commonly used
techniques for microchannel production. The relative roughness
ranged from 1.46% (110 × 50 µm channel) to 1.10% (1000 ×
100 µm channel). Fluid flow was analyzed using colored water
and uncolored water, which were pumped simultaneously into
the microreactor, one in each inlet channel. A very small
concentration of a strong coloring agent (amido blue) was used
for the coloring of water, which ensured a negligible change of
water properties. The experiments were observed under the
microscope.
Additionally, heat transfer in microchannels was analyzed
numerically and experimentally. A mathematical model was
developed, which considered the heat transfer and hydrodynamic
characteristics on the macroscale level, to predict the outlet
temperatures of water on the microscale level. Two instances
were considered, one with constant boundary conditions and
one with dynamic boundary conditions, which took into account
the cooling of the inner wall of the microchannel. The study
did not include a reaction, but focused on microreactor heat
transfer capabilities.
2. Theoretical Background
The microreactor investigated for the heat transfer study was
silicon-based with rectangular microchannels 110 µm wide (B)
and 50 µm deep (H), which corresponds to a hydraulic diameter
of 68.75 µm. Two inlet channels join together to form a central
channel, which at the end splits into two outlet channels, as
can be seen in Figure 1. The central channel was of equal
dimensions as the inlet and outlet channels and the fluid velocity
there was consequently twice as high. Deionized water was used
as the testing fluid. The total path of the fluid in the microreactor
was 43.46 mm (see Table 1).
2.1. Incompressible Fluid Flow in a Microchannel. The
length of the hydrodynamic developing region was assessed with
 Ind. Eng. Chem. Res., Vol. 47, No. 19, 2008 7449
Table 1. Dimensions of the Y-Shaped Microreactor for Heat
Transfer Study
dimension length [mm]
B (width) 0.110
H (depth) 0.050
D 1.8
L1 30
L2 6.73
L1 + 2L2 43.46

Langhaar’s equation, which holds true for Reynolds numbers Figure 2. The studied system.
of 2000 and smaller. The entrance length is defined as the
distance at which the center-line velocity reaches 99% of the velocity. In the limit of ∆x, ∆y, ∆z, and ∆t approaching 0,
velocity in a fully developed Hagen-Poiseuille profile. and after the introduction of the following dimensionless
variables:
Le
) 0.0575Re (1) y x z
Dh ψ) , ω) , ξ) (7)
H H L
For the assumption of a hydrodynamic, fully developed and thermal diffusivity
laminar flow, the entrance length must be less than 5% of the
total length.11 In the case of the fluid flow of 2000 µL/min, the R)
λ
(8)
highest value of the entrance length to the total length ratio is Fcp
4%. This calculation validates the assumption of a fully
the heat balance equation in steady state can be written in the
developed laminar flow in our heat transfer investigation.
following form:
The flow in microchannels is governed by the incompress-

( )
RL ∂2T
( )
RL ∂2T
ible Navier-Stokes equations. If the compressibility and the ∂T
gravitational force are neglected, the continuity and momen- Vz(ω, ψ) ) 2 2
+ 2 (9)
∂ξ H ∂ω H ∂ψ2
tum equations are
In eq 9, R is temperature dependent and Vz is a function of
∇ · v)0 (2) the position in the x-y plane of the microchannel. Figure 2
shows the microchannel parameters. Water at room temperature
F(∇ · v)v ) - ∇ P + η∇ v 2
(3) T0 enters the microchannel at ξ ) 0, and T∞ represents the inner
For a steady, fully developed Poiseuille-type flow, the wall temperature. The depth (ω) and the length (ξ) of the
z-momentum equation can be simplified to microchannel in dimensionless variables range from 0 to 1, while

[ ]
the width ranges from 0 to B/H.
∂P ∂2Vz ∂2Vz Two cases with different sets of boundary conditions were
0)- +η + 2 (4) considered. In the first case, the temperature of the inner wall
∂z ∂x2 ∂y of the microchannel was presumed constant and equal to the
with the associated boundary conditions: temperature of the water bath. This represents an ideal situation
for efficient temperature regulation. The boundary conditions
Vz(x, B) ) Vz(x, 0) ) 0; 0 e x e H are T(ω,ψ,0) ) T0, T(ω,0,ξ) ) T∞, T(ω,B/H,ξ) ) T∞, T(0,ψ,ξ)
(5)
Vz(H, y) ) Vz(0, y) ) 0; 0 e y e B ) T∞, and T(1,ψ,ξ) ) T∞.
In the second case, dynamic boundary conditions were
where x and y are coordinates in the direction of the channel presumed. In this case, the inner wall is cooled due to the
width and height and Vz is the z-directional velocity of water. entrance of cold water. The heat flow from the water bath has
A constant pressure gradient was applied along the length L of to overcome the heat resistance of the borosilicate glass before
the microchannel, and therefore -∂P/∂z can be simplified to entering the fluid. The boundary conditions can be written
∆P/L. The velocity profile calculated from Navier-Stokes
∂T
equations for Newtonian fluids of constant density (eqs 4 and -λ ) U(T(ω,0,ξ) - T∞)
5) was then used in heat transfer simulations, considering the H ∂ ψ (ω,0,ξ)
assumption of negligible density change.11 The velocity field ∂T
-λ ) U(T(ω,B⁄H,ξ) - T∞)
in this study was approximated by the following mathematical H ∂ ψ (ω,B⁄H,ξ)
expression as well, which is a reasonable approximation of the ∂T (10)
-λ ) U(T(0,ψ,ξ) - T∞)
actual state in the microchannel.15 The effect of temperature H ∂ ω (0,ψ,ξ)
change on the velocity profile was not implemented. The result ∂T
-λ ) U(T(1,ψ,ξ) - T∞)
was compared to the Navier-Stokes solution. H ∂ ω (1,ψ,ξ)
The dependence of the physical properties of water on
9 2x 2 2y 2

4 ( (
Vz(x, y) ) Vmean 1 -
H
-1 1-) )( ( B
-1 )) (6)
2.2. The Mathematical Model. A fully developed laminar
flow at steady-state conditions was assumed. The energy
balance equation included heat convection in the z direction
and heat conduction in the x and y directions, with z
corresponding to the length of the microchannel, x to the
depth, and y to the width. The contribution of heat conduction
in the z direction was neglected on account of very high fluid
temperature was included in the model, as well as the parabolic
velocity profile calculated from eqs 4 and 5. The input heat
rate was treated as being constant on all wall surfaces. The
compressibility, gravitational forces, and heat dissipation caused
by the viscosity of the liquid were neglected, as suggested by
Li et al.11 Koo and Kleinstreuer16 studied viscous dissipation
effects in microtubes and microchannels. They suggested that
viscous dissipation effects have influences on fluids with low
specific heat capacities, with high viscosities, or when the
7450 Ind. Eng. Chem. Res., Vol. 47, No. 19, 2008
Figure 3. The experimental setup.
hydraulic diameter is less than 50 µm. In the case of this
investigation, viscous dissipation effects can reasonably be
neglected.
Heat gain in the steady state by the fluid can be determined
from the energy balance:
q ) FcpφV(Tout - Tin) (11)
The density and the specific heat were calculated based on
the mean fluid temperature. The average heat transfer coefficient
was evaluated as
h ) q/A(Tw - Tm) (12)
where Tw is the average wall temperature, Tm is the mean water
temperature, and A is the channel wall area; A ) 2L(B + H).
The average Nusselt number was calculated as Nu ) hDh/λ,
and the results were plotted as a function of the Reynolds
number.
2.3. Method of Solution. The method used for solving the
second-order partial differential equation (eq 9) was the alternat-
ing-direction implicit method or ADI. This finite difference
method is used for solving parabolic differential equations in
three dimensions with the use of tridiagonal matrices. The
numerical calculations were done using Matlab.
The value of the heat conductivity coefficient of borosilicate
glass, as found in the literature, is 1.14 W/m K.17 The thickness
of the microreactor wall was approximated by the average value
of the upper and bottom wall thicknesses. The thermophysical
properties of water (thermal conductivity, density, viscosity, and
specific heat) are all temperature dependent. Their values were
found in Perry’s Chemical Engineers Handbook.17 The func-
tional dependence of thermal diffusivity on the temperature was
determined as
R ) -1.571 × 10-12T(°C)2 + 4.489 × 10-10T(°C) +
1352 × 10-7(13)
3. Experimental Setup (Figure 3)
A laboratory-on-a-chip system (Micronit Microfluidics B.V.,
Enschede, The Netherlands) was employed in the investigation.
The microreactor was thermostatted in a water bath at 59 °C,
and water at room temperature (21 °C) was pumped through
the two inlet microchannels. The temperatures at the two outlets
of the microreactor were monitored using type-J (iron-constantan)
thermocouples, and a computer was used for data acquisition.
The experimental data were obtained as an average of numerous
measurements.
The flow rates used in the study ranged from 100 to 2000
µL/min on each of the two high-performance syringe pumps
(PHD 4400 Hpsi Syringe Pump Series, Harvard Apparatus,
Holliston, MA). The Reynolds numbers in these cases were
below 2000, which indicated laminar flow. The residence times
of the fluid in the microreactor were very small, ranging from
0.0047 s at 100 µL/min to 0.0939 s at 2000 µL/min.
4. Results and Discussion
The typical velocity profile at laminar flow conditions for
the flow rate of 1000 µL/min is presented in Figure 4a. Similar
results can be obtained with eq 6, as can be seen in Figure 4b.
The average fluid velocity is 3.03 m/s. Although the numerical
solution of the approximation yields results similar to the ones
obtained with the Navier-Stokes equations, the latter gives a
more accurate description of fluid flow inside the microchannel.
For the determination of the transition from laminar to
turbulent regime, colored water and uncolored water were
pumped into the two inlet channels and photos of the central
channel were taken near the exit of the microreactor (see Figure
5). Results were obtained with excellent repeatability.
For the 110 × 50 µm channel, the flow at Re ) 1850 is still
laminar. Water flows in parallel layers, without any disruption
between the layers. Where the central channel splits into two
outlet channels, the two flows are fully separated. The channels
were smooth with relative roughness (ε/Dh) of only 1.46%. The
transition from laminar to turbulent occurred around Re ) 1900,
which is in agreement with conventional theory and has also
been reported in more recent studies.
In the case of the 220 × 50 µm microchannel, the transition
to turbulence occurred much earlier, around Re ) 1200 (Figure
5b). The relative roughness of the channels was 1.23%, less
than that of the previous channel. The aspect ratio of the channel
walls, on the other hand, was twice as high (1:4.4 compared to
1:2.2 of the previous microreactor).
The microreactor with the 440 × 100 µm channel had the
same aspect ratio and relative roughness as the prior micro-
channel. The transition to turbulence was found to be around
Re ) 1100, which is in good agreement with the 220 × 50 µm
microchannel. Although the microchannel was twice the size,
at microscale the aspect ratio played the determining role in
lowering the critical Reynolds number. The onset of turbulence
could be seen in great detail owing to the wider channel. Upon
the increase of the flow rate at a certain critical point, the border
fluctuated from perfect laminar and stream lines of the opposite
color as the surrounding liquid were displaced on both sides of
the border. In an interval of about 2 s the flow would disrupt
and then reassemble to laminar regime. With the increase of
flow rate, the disturbances of the flow would intensify.
The results for the 660 × 100 µm and 1000 × 100 µm
microchannel showed a further lowering of the critical Reynolds
number. Transition for both cases occurred around Re ) 410.
Since the 1000 µm wide channel (aspect ratio 1:10) is
significantly wider than the 660 µm wide channel, we can
conclude that we have reached the lowest critical Reynolds
number with regard to the increase of the aspect ratio. The onset
of turbulence was also very clearly seen in these two cases and
is shown for the 1000 µm wide channel in Figure 5f-h.
Clearly the aspect ratio of rectangular microchannels signifi-
cantly influences (lowers) the critical Reynolds number. On the
microscale, channels with equal hydraulic diameters and dif-
ferent channel wall aspect ratios cannot be evaluated in the same
manner since the increase of the aspect ratio means that the
channel wall area is much larger, and surface roughness effects

Figure 4. Velocity field at the flow rate of 1000 µL/min calculated using (a) incompressible Navier-Stokes equations and (b) numerical approximation.
Figure 5. (a) Laminar flow at Re ) 835 and (b) transition to turbulence at
Re ) 870 for 150 × 50 µm microchannel with 90° merging of inlet channels;
(c) laminar flow at Re ) 1160 and (d) transition to turbulence at Re )
1212 for 220 × 50 µm microchannel; (e) laminar flow at Re ) 317 for
1000 × 100 µm microchannel; (f-h) transition to turbulence at Re ) 412.
The photos are not to scale.
cause more disturbances in the fluid flow. This was observed
by comparing the 1:4.4 and 1:6.6 microchannels. The first has
Dh ) 163 µm, while the second has Dh ) 174 µm. This would
suggest the onset of turbulence at a similar Reynolds number,
but in fact there is a large difference between the two values
(1100 and 410, respectively). The surface area, on the other
hand, is 1.5-fold larger in the case of the 660 µm wide
microchannel than it is in the case of the 440 µm microchannel.
The results were evaluated in a plot of the critical Reynolds
number against the aspect ratio of the microchannel walls
(Figure 6). Conventional theory holds true for channels with
an aspect ratio around 1. As the aspect ratio increases, the critical
Reynolds number decreases toward 410, when the aspect ratio
is above 6. After that, the third dimension does not play a role
anymore and the symmetry approximation can be invoked. The
results hold for smooth channels with relative roughness around
1%. Lower values reported by some researchers2-4 were most
likely due to a higher surface roughness of channels. The
average value of the critical Reynolds numbers provided by
Sharp and Adrian6 was added to the plot as well as the value
given by Harms et al.18
The 150 × 50 µm microreactor had a 90° merging of the
inlet channels, which is very common because reactants have
Ind. Eng. Chem. Res., Vol. 47, No. 19, 2008 7451
Figure 6. Critical Reynolds numbers for different channel aspect ratios.
to be fed separately into the microchannels. The aspect ratio is
1:3 and relative roughness is 1.33%. The transition to turbulent
flow was observed around Re ) 850 (Figure 5b). The higher
angle of merging lowered the critical Reynolds number in the
central channel as opposed to parallel merging.
The finite difference numerical code written in Matlab
provided detailed temperature and heat flux distributions in the
microchannel. A 31 × 31 × 5000 grid (channel width, depth,
and length, respectively) was used for the discretization of the
computational domain. Simulations with a more accurate grid
did not yield substantially different results. Out of the 5000 steps
which comprise the length of the microreactor, 1-774 represent
the inlet channel, 775-4226 the central channel, and 4227-5000
the outlet channel.
For the simulation with constant boundary conditions, the
inner wall temperature is constant at 59 °C. At the microchannel
entrance the temperature of water is 21 °C. The simulation
showed that further along the flow direction water is heated,
quickly reaching 59 °C near the inner wall. In the center of the
microchannel, where the velocity is the greatest, the temperatures
stay the lowest. A very fast temperature increase was shown to
be in the inlet channel, followed by a slightly slower increase
in the central channel. It is evident that heat transfer is extremely
fast, with the average water temperature achieving 80% of the
total temperature difference in the inlet channel.
In the second case, dynamic boundary conditions take into
account the heat resistance of the wall of the microreactor. Heat
flow from the water bath has to overcome the heat resistance
of the borosilicate glass before entering the fluid. This simulation
was done for the comparison with the experimental results from
the studied microreactor system. Figure 7 represents the
temperature distribution in the x-y plane at different longitudinal
locations for the flow rate of 1000 µL/min on each of the two
pumps. The inner wall temperature is very low at the beginning
of the microreactor and slowly rises toward the outer wall
temperature of 59 °C, along with the water inside the channel.
The temperatures in the center of the microchannel are lower
7452 Ind. Eng. Chem. Res., Vol. 47, No. 19, 2008
Figure 7. Local temperature distribution on the x-y plane at different
locations along the flow direction for 1500 µL/min. (a) Immediately after
the entrance of the microchannel, (b) at the entrance into the central channel,
and (c) at the exit of the microreactor.
due to higher fluid velocity. The temperature distribution on
the cross section of the microreactor at half-depth is shown in
Figure 8.
Figure 9 shows the temperature rise along the length of the
microreactor. The dashed line represents the inner channel wall,
while the continuous line represents the mean temperature of
the fluid. At lower flow rates the temperature in the inlet
channels quickly rises at the very beginning. In the central
channel, the increase of temperature is slower, since the fluid
velocity here is twice as high. The temperature rise in the outlet
channel is again faster, but much slower than in the inlet channel
due to a smaller temperature gradient. The same trend can be
observed at higher fluid flows, but the temperature rise here is
not as fast and the outlet temperature is consequently smaller.
The temperature rise along the flow direction in the solid and
fluid regions of the microchannel can be approximated as linear,
as already noted by Qu and Mudawar,13 but only at higher flow
rates.
In Figure 10, the mean outlet temperatures of the model are
compared to the experimental results. In the case of constant
boundary conditions, the outlet temperatures are very high,
which is due to highly efficient heat transfer inside the
microchannel. At all flow rates, except 2000 µL/min, water
temperature reached the inner wall temperature before exiting
the microreactor. Water does not reach the inner wall temper-
ature only at extremely small residence times (the residence
time for the flow rate of 2000 µL/min is only 0.0047 s). The
results show how well temperature can be regulated inside a
microreactor system.
With dynamic boundary conditions the heat resistance of the
borosilicate glass wall of the microreactor was taken into
account. The simulation shows that the temperature of water
inside the microchannel is almost the same as the inner wall
temperature at all times. The model accurately predicted the
outlet temperatures. The experimental measurements were done
with a small degree of experimental uncertainty at lower flow
rates, since the temperature of the outflow of water was difficult
to measure accurately. This shows at water flows less than 500
µL/min where the outlet temperatures were measured lower than
the actual state and the predictions of the model. The forming
drop at the outlet would lose some of its heat to the surroundings
(including the thermocouples) before the actual measurement.
On the basis of the good agreement between the outlet
temperatures predicted by the model with dynamic boundary
conditions and the temperatures measured, it can be concluded
that the model successfully describes the heat transfer phenom-
enon in the microchannel.
The experimental data from this study for the central channel
were compared to correlations proposed by previous investiga-
tors in Figure 11. The results are presented in terms of the
Nusselt number variation as a function of the Reynolds number.
The Hausen19 correlation was developed for long macrotubes
with laminar flow at constant wall temperature and is a function
of Reynolds number, Prandtl number, and hydraulic diameter.
The proposed correlation did not provide satisfactory predictions
of the average Nusselt numbers, which was already noted by
Lee et al.12 The correlation developed by Li et al.11 is also
inconsistent with the experimental results from this work. The
correlation was developed specifically for the water/silicon
system and for the specific geometry of the heat sink, as was
explained by the authors. The Reynolds numbers considered in
the work were less than 200.
The best agreement was found by comparing results with the
work of Wibulswas20 for a rectangular channel with an aspect
ratio of 4. The proposed correlations by Lee et al.11 and Lee
and Garimella21 for thermally developing flow also show good
agreement. The correlation by Lee et al.11 was developed from
the “thin wall” model, and is plotted for the smallest micro-
channel tested (884 × 194 µm, Dh ) 318 µm, R ) 4.56). The
correlation of Lee and Garimella21 is shown for a 1250 × 229
µm channel (Dh ) 387 µm, R ) 5.46).

Figure 8. Cross section of the microreactor at H/2, representing the temperature distribution at the y-z plane. (a) For 1500 µL/min; (b) for 2000 µL/min.
Figure 9. Temperature of the inner wall and mean temperature of water
for 500 and 1500 µL/min.
5. Conclusions
In conventional theory, the effect of internal wall roughness
on laminar flow characteristics can be ignored for relative
roughness less than 5%. Microchannels, on the other hand, have
Ind. Eng. Chem. Res., Vol. 47, No. 19, 2008 7453
a much higher surface to volume ratio in comparison to
conventional-sized channels. It has been shown that water flow
in smooth microtubes, down to Dh ) 50 µm, shows no
difference from macroscale flow as long as the relative surface
roughness is less than 1.5%.22 In this work, the microchannel
with a small channel wall aspect ratio (1:2.2) exhibited similar
behavior. Deviations from classical theory were observed at
higher channel aspect ratios. This can be explained by the fact
that the hydraulic diameter, used for the calculation of the
Reynolds number, does not account for the large increase of
the channel wall surface area in channels with a high aspect
ratio. In such microchannels, surface roughness has more effect
on the fluid flow which causes an early transition from laminar
to turbulent regime. The Reynolds number is interpreted as the
ratio of the inertia force to the viscous force. At low Reynolds
numbers, the viscous force is large compared to the inertia force
and small disturbances in the velocity field created by small
roughness elements on the surface are damped out. With the
increase of the Reynolds number, the effect of viscous damping
becomes smaller and perturbations are allowed to grow. When
large variations in the velocity field can be maintained, the flow
becomes unstable and experiences an early transition to
turbulence.
7454 Ind. Eng. Chem. Res., Vol. 47, No. 19, 2008

critical Reynolds number in the central channel. A parallel

merging of channels is advised to avoid unexpected turbulence
inside a microreactor system.
A detailed numerical simulation of forced convection heat
transfer occurring in a microreactor was conducted using a three-
dimensional heat transfer model. The parabolic velocity profile
and the dependence of temperature on the thermophysical
properties of water were implemented into the mathematical
code and the ADI method used for solving the governing partial
differential equation. The model with dynamic boundary condi-
tions accurately predicted the temperatures at the outlet of the
studied microreactor at different flow rates. The numerical
calculations agreed with the traditional macroscale theory in
predicting the heat transfer for laminar flow in the microchannel
and provided an insight into the fluid flow characteristics. A
detailed temperature distribution of water inside the microchan-
nel was presented as well as the temperature of the channel
wall. For microchannels, which are not as smooth as the ones
in this work, one should also consider incorporating the
thermocapillary effect into the model to account for flow
instabilities due to the changes of the surface tension of water
at the interface with microchannel walls.
The heat transfer process in the microreactor is extremely
fast, as was observed in the model with constant boundary
conditions. The results show that the fluid can be heated or
cooled very quickly. With the use of an alternative material for
the microreactor, one with higher thermal conductivity (e.g.,
metals) and/or thinner walls, constant boundary conditions could
be achieved. The temperature needed for a specific chemical
transformation could be regulated even more easily and the
redundant heat from exothermic reactions removed even more
efficiently.

Nomenclature
Figure 10. Mean temperatures at the outlet of the microreactor at different
flow rates. A ) channel wall area (m2)
B ) microchannel width (m)
cp ) specific heat capacity (J/kg K)
D ) microreactor thickness (m)
Dh ) hydraulic diameter (m)
H ) microchannel height (m)
L ) microchannel length (m)
Le ) entrance length (m)
Re ) Reynolds number
Rec ) critical Reynolds number
T ) temperature (K)
Tm ) mean water temperature (K)
Tw ) average wall temperature (K)
T0 ) entering water temperature (K)
U ) overall coefficient of heat transfer (W/m2 K)
Vmean ) mean fluid velocity (m/s)
Vz ) z-directional velocity of water (m/s)
x ) coordinate in the direction of channel length
y ) coordinate in the direction of channel width
z ) coordinate in the direction of channel height

Greek Symbols
Figure 11. Experimental data compared against correlations.
R ) thermal diffusivity (m2/s)
The results show a fast decrease of the critical Reynolds ε ) channel roughness (m)
number, until the aspect ratio reaches a value of 6. After that, η ) water viscosity (Pa s)
the aspect ratio does not contribute to the transition to λ ) thermal conductivity (W/m K)
turbulence. The lowest critical Reynolds number was shown to ξ ) dimensionless independent variable ) z/L
be around 410. It was also shown that the angle of merging of ψ ) dimensionless independent variable ) y/H
inlet channels also influences the critical Reynolds number. Fluid F ) water density (kg/m3)
flows in channels with a higher angle of merging have a lower ω ) dimensionless independent variable ) x/H

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ReceiVed for reView January 31, 2008
ReVised manuscript receiVed June 4, 2008
Accepted July 16, 2008
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