The frictional and convective heat transfer characteristics of rarified flows in rectangular microchannels, with either isoflux or isothermal boundary conditions, are evaluated subject to second-order slip boundary conditions, creep flow, viscous dissipation, and axial conduction effects. Numerical results are obtained using a continuum based, three-dimensional, compressible, unsteady computational fluid dynamics algorithm with first- and second-order slip velocity and temperature jump boundary conditions applied to the momentum and energy equations, respectively. The results, reported in the form of Poiseuille and Nusselt numbers, are found to be significant functions of aspect ratio, Knudsen number, slip model parameters, Brinkman number, and Peclet number. (c) 2009 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.