Gradient Boundary Layers

Seldom is the temperature difference across the wall thickness of an item of equipment known. Siace large temperature gradients may occur ia the boundary layers adjacent to the metal surfaces, the temperature difference across the wall should not be estimated from the temperatures of the fluids on each side of the wall, but from the heat flux usiag equation 27... 

Within the boundary layer, there is a concentration gradient of retained macromolecules. 

Processing variables that affect the properties of the thermal CVD material include the precursor vapors being used, substrate temperature, precursor vapor temperature gradient above substrate, gas flow pattern and velocity, gas composition and pressure, vapor saturation above substrate, diffusion rate through the boundary layer, substrate material, and impurities in the gases. Eor PECVD, plasma uniformity, plasma properties such as ion and electron temperature and densities, and concurrent energetic particle bombardment during deposition are also important. 

The concentration boundary layer forms because of the convective transport of solutes toward the membrane due to the viscous drag exerted by the flux. A diffusive back-transport is produced by the concentration gradient between the membranes surface and the bulk. At equiUbrium the two transport mechanisms are equal to each other. Solving the equations leads to an expression of the flux ... 

Boundary layer flows are a special class of flows in which the flow far from the surface of an object is inviscid, and the effects of viscosity are manifest only in a thin region near the surface where steep velocity gradients occur to satisfy the no-slip condition at the solid surface. The thin layer where the velocity decreases from the inviscid, potential flow velocity to zero (relative velocity) at the sohd surface is called the boundary layer The thickness of the boundary layer is indefinite because the velocity asymptotically approaches the free-stream velocity at the outer edge. The boundaiy layer thickness is conventionally t en to be the distance for which the velocity equals 0.99 times the free-stream velocity. The boundary layer may be either laminar or turbulent. Particularly in the former case, the equations of motion may be simphfied by scaling arguments. Schhchting Boundary Layer Theory, 8th ed., McGraw-HiU, New York, 1987) is the most comprehensive source for information on boundary layer flows. 

When the two liquid phases are in relative motion, the mass transfer coefficients in eidrer phase must be related to die dynamical properties of the liquids. The boundary layer thicknesses are related to the Reynolds number, and the diffusive Uansfer to the Schmidt number. Another complication is that such a boundaty cannot in many circumstances be regarded as a simple planar interface, but eddies of material are U ansported to the interface from the bulk of each liquid which change the concenuation profile normal to the interface. In the simple isothermal model there is no need to take account of this fact, but in most indusuial chcumstances the two liquids are not in an isothermal system, but in one in which there is a temperature gradient. The simple stationary mass U ansfer model must therefore be replaced by an eddy mass U ansfer which takes account of this surface replenishment. 

To estimate the average gradient, the concentration difference should be divided by the unknown boundary layer depth 5. While this is unknown, the Carberry number (Ca) gives a direct estimate of what concentration fraction drives the transfer rate. The concentration difference tells the concentration at which the reaction is really running. 

Diffusion-blading loss. This loss develops because of negative velocity gradients in the boundary layer. Deceleration of the flow increases the boundary layer and gives rise to separation of the flow. The adverse pressure gradient that a compressor normally works against increases the chances of separation and causes significant loss. 

Blade loading and profile loss. This loss is due to the negative veloeity gradients in the boundary layer, whieh gives rise to flow separation. 

The outlet diffuser is used to eonvert the high absolute veloeity leaving the exdueer into statie pressure. If this eonversion is not done, the effieieney of the unit will be low. This eonversion of the flow to a statie head must be done earefully, sinee the low-energy boundary layers eannot tolerate great adverse pressure gradients. 

In the stratification strategy with a replacing air distribution in the lower zone, the height of the boundary layer between the lower and upper zones can be determined with the criteria of the contaminant interfacial level.This level, where the air mass flow in the plumes is equal to the air mass flow of the supply air, IS presented in Fig. 8,4. In this ideal case the wait and air temperatures are equal on the interfacial level. In practical cases they are not usually equal and the buoyancy flows on the walls will raise the level and decrease the gradient. 

Initially it was assumed that no solution movement occurs within the diffusion layer. Actually, a velocity gradient exists in a layer, termed the hydrodynamic boundary layer (or the Prandtl layer), where the fluid velocity increases from zero at the interface to the constant bulk value (U). The thickness of the hydrodynamic layer, dH, is related to that of the diffusion layer ... 

A region outside the boundary layer in which the velocity gradient in a direction perpendicular to the surface is negligibly small and in which the velocity is everywhere equal to the stream velocity. 

The thickness of the boundary layer may be arbitrarily defined as the distance from the surface at which the velocity reaches some proportion (such as 0.9, 0.99, 0.999) of the undisturbed stream velocity. Alternatively, it may be possible to approximate to the velocity profile by means of an equation which is then used to give the distance from the surface at which the velocity gradient is zero and the velocity is equal to the stream velocity. Difficulties arise in comparing the thicknesses obtained using these various definitions, because velocity is changing so slowly with distance that a small difference in the criterion used for the selection of velocity will account for a very large difference in the corresponding thickness of the boundary layer. 

The flow conditions in the boundary layer are of considerable interest to chemical engineers because these influence, not only the drag effect of the fluid on the surface, but also the heat or mass transfer rates where a temperature or a concentration gradient exists. 

The force produced as a result of any difference in pressure dP between the planes 3-4 and 1-2. However, if the velocity us outside the boundary layer remains constant, from Bernoulli s theorem, there can be no pressure gradient in the X-direction and dP/dx = 0. 

If at a distance a from the leading edge the laminar sub-layer is of thickness 5 and the total thickness of the boundary layer is 8, the properties of the laminar sub-layer can be found by equating the shear stress at the surface as given by the Blasius equation (11.23) to that obtained from the velocity gradient near the surface. 

At the outer edge of the thermal boundary layer, the temperature is 9S and the temperature gradient (36/dy) = 0 if there is to be no discontinuity in the temperature profile. 

If a concentration gradient exists within a fluid flowing over a surface, mass transfer will take place, and the whole of the resistance to transfer can be regarded as lying within a diffusion boundary layer in the vicinity of the surface. If the concentration gradients, and hence the mass transfer rates, are small, variations in physical properties may be neglected and it can be shown that the velocity and thermal boundary layers are unaffected 55. For low concentrations of the diffusing component, the effects of bulk flow will be small and the mass balance equation for component A is ... 

Derive the momentum equation for the flow of a fluid over a plane surface for conditions where the pressure gradient along the surface is negligible. By assuming a sine function for the variation of velocity with distance from the surface (within the boundary layer) for streamline flow, obtain an expression for the boundary layer thickness as a function of distance from the leading edge of the surface. 

Figure 2.6 shows a typical temperature profile.t l The temperature boundary layer is similar to the velocity layer. The flowing gases heat rapidly as they come in contact with the hot surface of the tube, resulting in a steep temperature gradient. The average temperature increases toward downstream. 

The rotating-disk CVD reactor (Fig. 1) can be used to deposit thin films in the fabrication of microelectronic components. The susceptor on which the deposition occurs is heated (typically around lOOOK) and rotated (speeds around 1000 rpm). A boundary layer is formed as the gas is drawn in a swirling motion across the spinning, heated susceptor. In spite of its three-dimensional nature, a peculiar property of this flow is that, in the absence of buoyant forces and geometrical constraints, the species and temperature gradients normal to the disk are the same everywhere on the disk. Consequently, the deposition is highly uniform - an especially desirable property when the deposition is on a microelectronic substrate. 

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