Experimental Study on Heat Transfer and Flow Characteristics in Subcooled Flow Boiling in a Microchannel

Abstract

The current study presents an experimental investigation of heat transfer and flow characteristic for subcooled flow boiling of deionized water in the microchannel heat sink. The test section consisted of a single microchannel having 300μm wide nominal dimensions and 300μm height (hydraulic diameter of 300μm). The test section formed of oxygen-free copper with 72mm length and 12mm width. Experimental operation conditions spanned the heat flux (78-800) kW/m², mass flux (1700 and 2100) kg/m².s at 31˚C subcooled inlet temperature. The boiling heat transfer coefficient is measured and compared with existing correlations. Also, the experimental pressure drop is measured and compared with microscale pressure drop correlations. The results showed that higher mass flux leads to higher boiling heat transfer coefficient, and the dominant mechanism is convective boiling. Also, the experimental pressure drop decrease with increasing heat flux in a single-phase region while it increases in a two-phase region. Comparing the experimental results in the experimental condition range, showed that an existing correlation provides a satisfactory prediction of heat transfer coefficient and pressure drop.