Structural design of a silicon six-wafer micro-combustor under the effect of heat transfer boundary condition at the outer walls

Abstract

The aim of this investigation was to establish a methodology for designing highly stressed micro fabricated structures by studying the structural design issues associated with a silicon six–wafer micro combustor under the effect of heat transfer boundary condition at the outer walls. Some experimental and numerical simulation results have indicated that the flame can not be sustained in the micro combustor if the poor heat transfer coefficients at the outer wall are present. This could cause the combustor wall temperature higher than the auto ignition temperature of reactants and results in the upstream burning. Since silicon has relatively poor high temperature strength and creep resistance when the temperature is above the brittle to ductile transition temperature (BDTT), e.g. 900K, the combustion in the recirculation jacket could possibly damage the micro combustor due to the high wall temperature