Injection, Transport and Removal of Gas Bubbles in Microchannels for Heat Transfer Enhancement
Liquid cooling is an efficient way to remove heat fluxes with magnitudes up to 10,000 W/cm2. One limitation of single-phase microchannel heat transfer is the relatively low Nusselt number, due to laminar flow. Several methods have been used to improve the Nusselt number such as geometric obtrusions, pins and fins and nanofluids. In this talk, we experimentally investigate the heat transfer enhancement of a heat sink where air bubbles are periodically injected. The segmented flow pattern generates recirculation loops that enhance transport phenomena. We show that segmented flow can enhance the Nusselt number of laminar flows in short channels by a factor two. Also, we demonstrate a simple and high-throughput method for removing bubbles from microchannels, using a hydrophobic porous membrane. The role of the thin liquid film coating the bubbles in the heat transfer and the bubble removal is investigated.