Prediction of Pressure Drop for Flow Boiling in Rectangular Multi-Microchannel Heat Sinks

2017 ◽  
Vol 40 (1-2) ◽  
pp. 26-38 ◽  
Author(s):  
Burak Markal ◽  
Orhan Aydin ◽  
Mete Avci
Author(s):  
Tannaz Harirchian ◽  
Suresh V. Garimella

Two-phase heat transfer in microchannels can support very high heat fluxes for use in high-performance electronics-cooling applications. However, the effects of microchannel cross-sectional dimensions on the 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 in microchannel heat sinks. The effect of channel size on the heat transfer coefficient and pressure drop is studied for mass fluxes ranging from 250 to 1600 kg/m2s. The test sections consist of parallel microchannels with nominal widths of 100, 250, 400, 700, and 1000 μm, all with a depth of 400 μm, cut into 12.7 mm × 12.7 mm silicon substrates. Twenty-five microheaters embedded in the substrate allow local control of the imposed heat flux, while twenty-five temperature microsensors integrated into the back of the substrates enable local measurements of temperature. The dielectric fluid Fluorinert FC-77 is used as the working fluid. The results of this study serve to quantify the effectiveness of microchannel heat transport while simultaneously assessing the pressure drop trade-offs.


2009 ◽  
Vol 131 (3) ◽  
Author(s):  
Jaeseon Lee ◽  
Issam Mudawar

This study examines the pressure drop characteristics of subcooled two-phase microchannel heat sinks. A new model is proposed, which depicts the subcooled flow as consisting of a homogeneous two-phase flow layer near the heated walls of the microchannel and a second subcooled bulk liquid layer. This model is intended for conditions where subcooled flow boiling persists along the entire microchannel and the outlet fluid never reaches bulk saturation temperature. Mass, momentum, and energy control volume conservation equations are combined to predict flow characteristics for thermodynamic equilibrium qualities below zero. By incorporating a relation for apparent quality across the two-phase layer and a new criterion for bubble departure, this model enables the determination of axial variations in two-phase layer thickness and velocity as well as pressure drop. The model predictions are compared with HFE 7100 pressure drop data for four different microchannel sizes with hydraulic diameters of 176–416 μm, mass velocities of 670–5550 kg/m2 s, and inlet temperatures of 0°C and −30°C. The pressure drop database is predicted with a mean absolute error of 14.9%.


Author(s):  
Naveenan Thiagarajan ◽  
Daniel T. Pate ◽  
Sushil H. Bhavnani ◽  
Rory J. Jones

Advances in electronics such as chip level integration and die stacking have led to a bottleneck in further development since dissipation of the resulting high heat fluxes continues to be a challenge. Ongoing research in the field of flow boiling to meet the rising demands has resulted in the evolution of potential cooling technologies such as microchannel heat sinks. In an effort to understand the flow boiling in these micro-structures, experiments were previously conducted by the authors using 19 parallel, surface enhanced microchannels with a hydraulic diameter of 253μm. Flow instabilities which can be attributed to channel-to-channel interaction and the effect of compressible volumes at channel exit and inlet were observed under certain subcooled boiling conditions although these were mitigated in saturated conditions by the presence of re-entrant cavities. To completely eliminate the instabilities, it is important to identify the underlying mechanisms by isolating these causes. To achieve this, a study of flow boiling of dielectric fluid FC72 (C6F14) in a single microchannel test section of height 347 microns and width ranging from 100–400 microns was conducted. The base of the microchannel was augmented with reentrant cavities. The study was performed at mass fluxes ranging from 500–2000 kg/m2-s and inlet subcooling up to 20°C. The results include the parametric effects of inlet subcooling, mass flux, heat flux and number of cavities on the pressure drop. It was observed that the pressure drop oscillations in the subcooled boiling regime observed earlier in the multichannel configuration, were not observed in the subcooled regime in the single channel test device of width 100 microns. Further, adiabatic experiments were conducted to study the effect of channel size on the friction factor. These studies will help provide fundamental design input to enable the development of microchannel heat sinks.


2004 ◽  
Vol 126 (3) ◽  
pp. 288-300 ◽  
Author(s):  
Weilin Qu ◽  
Seok-Mann Yoon ◽  
Issam Mudawar

Knowledge of flow pattern and flow pattern transitions is essential to the development of reliable predictive tools for pressure drop and heat transfer in two-phase micro-channel heat sinks. In the present study, experiments were conducted with adiabatic nitrogen-water two-phase flow in a rectangular micro-channel having a 0.406×2.032mm2 cross-section. Superficial velocities of nitrogen and water ranged from 0.08 to 81.92 m/s and 0.04 to 10.24 m/s, respectively. Flow patterns were first identified using high-speed video imaging, and still photos were then taken for representative patterns. Results reveal the dominant flow patterns are slug and annular, with bubbly flow occurring only occasionally; stratified and churn flow were never observed. A flow pattern map was constructed and compared with previous maps and predictions of flow pattern transition models. Features unique to two-phase micro-channel flow were identified and employed to validate key assumptions of an annular flow boiling model that was previously developed to predict pressure drop and heat transfer in two-phase micro-channel heat sinks. This earlier model was modified based on new findings from the adiabatic two-phase flow study. The modified model shows good agreement with experimental data for water-cooled heat sinks.


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