Visualization of convective boiling heat transfer in single microchannels with different shaped cross-sections

Convective boiling in transparent single microchannels with similar hydraulic diameters but different shaped cross-sections was visualized, along with simultaneous measurement of the local heat transfer coefficient. Two types of microchannels were tested: a circular Pyrex glass microtube (210 μm inner diameter) and a square Pyrex glass microchannel (214 μm hydraulic diameter). A 100-nm-thick semi-transparent ITO/Ag thin film sputtered on the outer wall of the microchannel was used for direct joule heating of the microchannel.The flow field visualization showed semi-periodic variation in the flow patterns in both the square and circular microchannels. Such variation was because the confined space limited the bubble growth in the radial direction.In the square microchannel, both the number of nucleation bubbles and the local heat transfer coefficient increased with decreasing vapor quality. The corners acted as active nucleation cavities, leading to the higher local heat transfer coefficient. In contrast, lack of cavities in the smooth glass circular microchannel yielded a relatively smaller heat transfer coefficient at lower vapor quality. Finally, the heat transfer coefficient was higher for the square microchannel because corners in the square microchannel acted as effective active nucleation sites.     

Effects of inlet/outlet configurations on flow boiling instability in parallel microchannels

A simultaneous visualization and measurement study has been carried out to investigate effects of inlet/outlet configurations on flow boiling instabilities in parallel microchannels, having a length of 30 mm and a hydraulic diameter of 186 μm. Three types of inlet/outlet configurations were investigated. Fluid flow entering to and exiting from the microchannels with the Type-A connection was restricted because the inlet and outlet conduits were perpendicular to the microchannels. The fluid flow had no restriction in entering to and existing from the microchannels with the Type-B connection. In the Type-C connection, fluid flow was restricted in entering each microchannel but was not restricted in exiting from the microchannels. It is found that amplitudes of temperature and pressure oscillations in the Type-B connection are much smaller than those in the Type-A connection under the same heat flux and mass flux conditions. On the other hand, nearly steady flow boiling exists in the parallel microchannels with the Type-C connection under the experimental conditions. Therefore, this configuration is recommended for high-heat-flux microchannel applications. As predicted, the stability threshold is determined by the minimum in the pressure-drop-versus-flow-rate curve. The pressure drop and heat transfer coefficient versus vapor quality for flow boiling in microchannels with the Type-C connection are presented. It is found that experimental data of pressure drop are higher and heat transfer coefficients are lower for boiling flow at high vapor quality in microchannels than those predicted from correlation equations for boiling flow in macrochannels, due to local dryout.     

Boiling of water and FC-72 in microchannels enhanced with novel features

A microchannel test section comprised of parallel square microchannels with a 25 × 25 μm and 50 × 50 μm cross section was manufactured. Boiling of perfluorinated dielectric fluid FC-72 and water in microchannels was studied. Troublesome occurrences associated with flow boiling in microchannels were reduced or eliminated with inlet/outlet restrictors, inlet/outlet manifolds and potential nucleation cavities incorporated in the array of microchannels. The gradual reduction of channel cross section in the manifolds ensured a uniform distribution of the working fluid among the microchannels. The flow restrictors provided a higher upstream pressure drop in comparison with the downstream pressure drop which favors vapor flow in the downstream direction and consequentially suppresses the vapor backflow present in flow boiling. The superheat of the microchannel wall necessary for the onset of boiling was decreased significantly with the incorporation of properly sized artificial cavities. Experimental results confirmed the benefits of the etched features, as there was (i) an even working fluid distribution (ii) without dominating backflows of vapor (iii) at a low temperature of the onset of boiling. Bubble growths as well as other events in the microchannels were visualized with a high-speed imaging system which captured images at over 87,000 frames per second. Results exhibit boiling hysteresis dependence of the working fluid and its mass flux through the microchannels. The temperature of the onset of boiling is highly dependent on the working fluid, microchannel size and its roughness.     

Hydrodynamics and heat transfer during flow boiling instabilities in a single microchannel

Boiling in microchannels is widely considered as one of the front runners in process intensification heat removal. Flow boiling heat transfer in microchannel geometry and the associated flow instabilities are not well understood, further research is necessary into the flow instabilities adverse effect on heat transfer.Boiling is induced in microchannel geometry (hydraulic diameter 727 μm) to investigate several flow instabilities. A transparent, metallic, conductive deposit has been developed on the exterior of rectangular microchannels, allowing simultaneous heating and visualisation.Presented in this paper is data for a particular case with a uniform heat flux of 4.26 kW/m² applied to the microchannel and inlet liquid mass flowrate, held constant at 1.13 × 10^?5 kg/s. In conjunction with obtaining high-speed images, a sensitive infrared camera is used to record the temperature profiles on the exterior wall of the microchannel, and a data acquisition system is used to record the pressure fluctuations over time. Various phenomena are apparent during the flow instabilities; these can be characterised into timescales occurring at 100’s seconds, 10’s seconds, several seconds and finally milliseconds. Correlation of pressure oscillations with temperature fluctuations as a function of the heat flux applied to the microchannel is possible.From analysis of our results, images and video sequences with the corresponding physical data obtained, it is possible to follow simultaneously particular flow, pressure and temperature conditions leading to nucleate boiling, flow instabilities and transition regimes during flow boiling in a microchannel. The investigation allowed us to quantify and characterise the timescales of various observed instabilities during flow boiling in a microchannel. High speed imaging revealed some of the controlling physical mechanisms responsible for the observed instabilities.     

Saturated flow boiling heat transfer and pressure drop in silicon microchannel arrays

Flow boiling in arrays of parallel microchannels is investigated using a silicon test piece with imbedded discrete heat sources and integrated local temperature sensors. The microchannels considered range in width from 102 μm to 997 μm, with the channel depth being nominally 400 μm in each case. Each test piece has a footprint of 1.27 cm by 1.27 cm with parallel microchannels diced into one surface. Twenty five microsensors integrated into the microchannel heat sinks allow for accurate local temperature measurements over the entire test piece. The experiments are conducted with deionized water which enters the channels in a purely liquid state. Results are presented in terms of temperatures and pressure drop as a function of imposed heat flux. The experimental results allow a critical assessment of the applicability of existing models and correlations in predicting the heat transfer rates and pressure drops in microchannel arrays, and lead to the development of models for predicting the two-phase pressure drop and saturated boiling heat transfer coefficient.     

Experimental Study on the Effect of Stabilization on Flow Boiling Heat Transfer in Microchannels

The effect of flow instabilities on flow boiling heat transfer in microchannels is investigated using water as the working fluid. The experimental test section has six parallel rectangular microchannels, each having a cross-sectional area of 1054 × 197 microns. Flow restrictors are introduced at the inlet of each microchannel to stabilize the flow boiling process and avoid the backflow phenomena. The mass flow rate, inlet temperature of water, and the electric current supplied to the resistive cartridge heater are controlled to provide quantitative heat transfer information. The results are compared with the unrestricted flow configuration.     

Hydrodynamics and heat transfer prior to onset of nucleate boiling in a rectangular microchannel heat sink

The conjugate heat transfer of flow boiling in a rectangular microchannel heat sink (MCHS) was modelled numerically to investigate the hydrodynamics and thermal responses of flow prior to the onset of nucleate boiling (ONB). Local hydrodynamics and thermal conditions leading to ONB are analysed numerically for different heat flux. The flow patterns of different modes of microconvection and mixed convective flows including the circulating flow, wavy flow and seeping flow were demonstrated and discussed. The numerical study proposes the mechanism leading to the first bubble nucleation which cover the initiation of fluid instability until the ONB. This work provides better understanding of the superheat induced flow instability and the progressive fluid convection under transient heating.     

Visualization of flow patterns and bubble behavior during flow boiling in open microchannels

Flow boiling in microchannels is favored by the heat transfer community due to the high heat transfer rates that can be obtained with lower mass flow rates. However, the heat transfer rates for flow boiling in microchannels are impacted by flow reversals and flow instabilities. An open microchannel structure was recently proposed to reduce the impact of the flow boiling instabilities. Subcooled flow boiling experiments were conducted in open microchannels using deionized water. The open microchannels had 6 parallel channels with a 0.3 mm uniform thickness gap above them The channels were fabricated on a 6 mm × 40 mm copper block. The channels were 0.5 mm wide and 0.3 mm deep with 0.43 mm wide fins between them. Flow visualizations were performed with a high-speed CCD camera with the results showing that the flow regimes in the open microchannels differ from those in closed microchannels with stratified flow and no flow instability. Two types of confined bubbles were observed with characterizations of the effects of the bubbles on each other. The heat transfer mechanisms for flow boiling in open microchannels are also described.     

Correlation of the Flow Pattern and Flow Boiling Heat Transfer in Microchannels

Flow boiling in microchannels is characterized by the considerable influence of capillary forces and constraint effects on the flow pattern and heat transfer. In this article we utilize the features of gas–liquid flow patterns in rectangular microchannels under adiabatic conditions to explain the regularities of refrigerants flow boiling heat transfer. The flow-pattern maps for the upward and horizontal nitrogen–water flow in a microchannel with the size of 1500 × 720 μm were determined via dual-laser flow scanning and compared with corrected Mishima and Ishii prediction. Flow boiling heat transfer was studied for vertical and horizontal microchannel heat sink with similar channels using refrigerants R-21 and R-134a. The data on local heat transfer coefficients were obtained in the range of mass flux from 33 to 190 kg/m²-s, pressure from 1.5 to 11 bar, and heat flux from 10 to 160 kW/m². The nucleate and convective flow boiling modes were observed for both refrigerants. It was found that heat transfer deterioration occurred for annular flow when the film thickness became small to suppress nucleate boiling. The mechanism of heat transfer deterioration was discussed and a model of heat transfer deterioration was applied to predict the experimental data.     

Effect of aspect ratio on saturated boiling flow in microchannels with nonuniform heat flux

Microchannel two‐phase flow is an effective cooling method used in microelectronics, in which the heat flux density is unevenly distributed usually. The paper is focused on numerical study the effect of aspect ratio on the flow boiling of microchannels with nonuniform heat flux. The heat source is a three‐dimensional (3D) integrated circuit. 3D microchannel model and volume of fluid method are coupled in numerical simulation. The results show that the aspect ratio has no relationship with the two‐phase pressure drop of the microchannel. It has a certain influence on the distribution of bubble shape. In terms of the heat transfer coefficient, the aspect ratio has a certain influence on a section of the inlet. Due to the nucleate boiling, the convective heat transfer in the remaining areas is the dominant factor and the average heat transfer coefficient is mainly determined by the heat flux at the bottom of the channel.     

Numerical investigation of subcooled flow boiling in segmented finned microchannels

Bubble growth behavior and heat transfer characteristics during subcooled flow boiling in segmented finned microchannels have been numerically investigated. Simulations have been performed for a single row of segmented finned microchannel and predicted results are compared with experimental investigations. Onset of nucleation, formation of bubbles, their growth and movements have been investigated for different values of applied heat flux. Mechanism of bubble expansion without clogging resulting in enhanced heat transfer in segmented finned microchannels has been explained. Temperature and pressure fluctuations during subcooled flow boiling condition have been investigated. It is observed that at high heat flux, thin liquid film trapped between the bubble and channel wall is evaporated leading to localized heating effect. Predicted flow patterns are similar to experimental results. However, simulations over predict the bubble growth rate and heat transfer coefficient.     

Unstable and stable flow boiling in parallel microchannels and in a single microchannel

A simultaneous visualization and measurement study have been carried out to investigate flow boiling instabilities of water in microchannels at various heat fluxes and mass fluxes. Two separate flow boiling experiments were conducted in eight parallel silicon microchannels (with flow interaction from neighboring channels at headers) and in a single microchannel (without flow interaction), respectively. These microchannels, at a length of 30 mm, had an identical trapezoidal cross-section with a hydraulic diameter of 186 μm. At a given heat flux and inlet water temperature, it was found that stable and unstable flow boiling regimes existed, depending on the mass flux. A flow boiling map, in terms of heat flux vs mass flux, showing stable flow boiling regime and unstable flow boiling regime is presented for parallel microchannels as well as for a single microchannel, respectively, at an inlet water temperature of 35 °C. In the stable flow boiling regime, isolated bubbles were generated and were pushed away by the incoming subcooled liquid. Two unstable flow boiling regimes, with long-period oscillation (more than 1 s) and short-period oscillation (less than 0.1 s) in temperature and pressure, were identified. The former was due to the expansion of vapor bubble from downstream while the latter was owing to the flow pattern transition from annular to mist flow. A comparison of results of flow boiling in parallel microchannels and in a single microchannel shows that flow interaction effects from neighboring channels at the headers are significant.     

Experimental investigations of flow boiling heat transfer and pressure drop in straight and expanding microchannels – A comparative study

Flow boiling experiments were conducted in straight and expanding microchannels with similar dimensions and operating conditions. Deionized water was used as the coolant. The test vehicles were made from copper with a footprint area of 25 mm × 25 mm. Microchannels having nominal width of 300 μm and a nominal aspect ratio of 4 were formed by wire cut Electro Discharge Machining process. The measured surface roughness (Ra) was about 2.0 μm. To facilitate easier comparison with the straight microchannels and also to simplify the method of fabrication, the expanding channels were formed with the removal of fins at selected location from the straight microchannel design, instead of using a diverging channel. Tests were performed on both the microchannels over a range of mass fluxes, heat fluxes and an inlet temperature of 90 °C. It was observed that the two-phase pressure drop across the expanding microchannel heat sink was significantly lower as compared to its straight counterpart. The pressure drop and wall temperature fluctuations were seen reduced in the expanding microchannel heat sink. It was also noted that the expanding microchannel heat sink had a better heat transfer performance than the straight microchannel heat sink, under similar operating conditions. This phenomenon in expanding microchannel heat sink, which was observed in spite of it having a lower convective heat transfer area, is explained based on its improved flow boiling stability that reduces the pressure drop oscillations, temperature oscillations and hence partial dry out.     

Flow Boiling Heat Transfer of Refrigerant R-134a in Copper Microchannel Heat Sink

In this paper we present experimental data on heat transfer and pressure drop characteristics at flow boiling of refrigerant R-134a in a horizontal microchannel heat sink. The primary objective of this study was to experimentally establish how the local heat transfer coefficient and pressure drop correlate with the heat flux, mass flux, and vapor quality. The copper microchannel heat sink contains 21 microchannels with 335 × 930 μm² cross section. The microchannel plate and heating block were divided by the partition wall for the local heat flux measurements. Distribution of local heat transfer coefficients along the length and width of the microchannel plate was measured in the range of external heat fluxes from 50 to 500 kW/m²; the mass flux varied within 200–600 kg/m²-s, and pressure varied within 6–16 bar. The obvious impact of heat flux on the magnitude of heat transfer coefficient was observed. It showed that nucleate boiling is the dominant mechanism for heat transfer. A new model of flow boiling heat transfer, considering nucleate boiling suppression and liquid film evaporation, was proposed and verified experimentally in this paper.     

微通道内流动沸腾特性研究

对国内外微通道流动和换热的研究实验作了总结,阐述了影响微通道换热系数的因素,如热流密度、过热度和干度等.对去离子水在内径为0.65 mm、长为102 mm的圆形管道内流动沸腾换热进行了实验研究,得到了局部换热系数随干度的变化关系,进而根据换热系数的变化趋势讨论了饱和流动沸腾区微通道内主导的换热机制.结果表明:从换热系数随干度的变化关系很难判定主导的换热机制;将实验数据与已发表的预测关联式进行了比较,发现大多关联式都失效,说明基于常规理论的模型不再适用于微通道.     

Microchannel size effects on local flow boiling heat transfer to a dielectric fluid

Heat transfer with liquid–vapor phase change in microchannels can support very high heat fluxes for use in applications such as the thermal management of high-performance electronics. However, the effects of channel cross-sectional dimensions on the two-phase heat transfer coefficient and pressure drop have not been investigated extensively. In the present work, experiments are conducted to investigate the local flow boiling heat transfer of a dielectric fluid, Fluorinert FC-77, in microchannel heat sinks. Experiments are performed for mass fluxes ranging from 250 to 1600 kg/m² s. Seven different test pieces made from silicon and consisting of parallel microchannels with nominal widths ranging from 100 to 5850 μm, all with a nominal depth of 400 μm, are considered. An array of temperature sensors on the substrate allows for resolution of local temperatures and heat transfer coefficients. The results of this study show that for microchannels of width 400 μm and greater, the heat transfer coefficients corresponding to a fixed wall heat flux as well as the boiling curves are independent of channel size. Also, heat transfer coefficients and boiling curves are independent of mass flux in the nucleate boiling region for a fixed channel size, but are affected by mass flux as convective boiling dominates. A strong dependence of pressure drop on both channel size and mass flux is observed. The experimental results are compared to predictions from a number of existing correlations for both pool boiling and flow boiling heat transfer.     

Contribution of thin-film evaporation during flow boiling inside microchannels

Flow boiling through microchannels is characterized by nucleation and growth of vapor bubbles that fill the entire channel cross-sectional area. As the bubbles nucleate and grow inside the microchannel, a thin film of liquid or a microlayer gets trapped between the bubbles and the channel walls. The heat transfer mechanism present at the channel walls during flow boiling is studied numerically. It is then compared to the heat transfer mechanisms present during nucleate pool boiling and in a moving evaporating meniscus. Increasing contact angle improved wall heat transfer in case of nucleate boiling and moving evaporating meniscus but not in the case of flow boiling inside a microchannel. It is shown that the thermal and the flow fields present inside the microchannel around a bubble are fundamentally different as compared to nucleate pool boiling or in a moving evaporating meniscus. It is explained why thin-film evaporation is the dominant heat transfer mechanism and is responsible for creating an apparent nucleate boiling effect inside a microchannel.     

A four-zone model for saturated flow boiling in a microchannel of rectangular cross-section

A four-zone flow boiling model is presented to describe saturated flow boiling heat transfer mechanisms in a microchannel of rectangular cross-section. The boiling process in the microchannel is assumed to be a cyclic passage of four zones: (i) liquid-slug zone, (ii) elongated bubble zone, (iii) partially-dryout zone, and (iv) fully-dryout zone. The existence of the partially-dryout zone in this model is proposed to take into consideration of corner effects on boiling heat transfer in the microchannel. To verify this new model, an experimental study was carried out to investigate flow boiling heat transfer of water in a microchannel having a rectangular cross-section with a hydraulic diameter of 137 μm (202 μm in width and 104 μm in depth) with a length of 30 mm under three-side heating condition. The data for bubble nucleation frequency was correlated in terms of the Boiling number, which was used to determine the heat transfer coefficient. It is found that the present four-zone flow boiling model successfully predicts trends of boiling heat transfer data in a microchannel with a rectangular cross-section, having a sharp peak at low vapor quality depending on the mass flow rate. The predictions of flow boiling heat transfer coefficient in the microchannel are found in good agreement with experimental data with a MAE of 13.9%.     

Experimental study of unsteady convective boiling in heated minichannels

Convective boiling in narrow channels may under specific conditions display an unsteady behavior. An experimental set-up has been elaborated to investigate heat and mass transfer and to analyze two-phase flow instabilities in rectangular microchannels with a hydraulic diameter of 889 μm. Depending on the operating conditions two types of behavior are observed: a steady state characterized by pressure drop fluctuations with low amplitudes (from 0.5 to 5 kPa/m) and no characteristic frequency; a non-stationary state of two-phase flow. The pressure signals exhibit fluctuations with high amplitudes (from 20 to 100 kPa/m) and frequencies ranging from 3.6 to 6.6 Hz. Steady and unsteady thermo-hydraulic behaviors depending on the two control parameters (heat flux and mass velocity) are analyzed and given in this paper.     

Similarities and Differences Between Flow Boiling in Microchannels and Pool Boiling

Recent literature indicates that under certain conditions the heat transfer coefficient during flow boiling in microchannels is quite similar to that under pool boiling conditions. This is rather unexpected, as microchannels are believed to provide significant heat transfer enhancement under single-phase as well as flow boiling conditions. This article explores the underlying heat transfer mechanisms and illustrates the similarities and differences between the two processes. Formation of elongated bubbles and their passage over the microchannel walls have similarities to the bubble ebullition cycle in pool boiling. During the passage of elongated bubbles, the longer duration between two successive liquid slugs leads to wall dryout and a critical heat flux that may be lower than that under pool boiling conditions. A clear understanding of these phenomena will help in overcoming these limiting factors and in developing strategies for enhancing heat transfer during flow boiling in microchannels.