Suppression of Thermocapillary Effect in Evaporating Thin Film of Micro Heat Pipes
This paper presents a theoretical study on the flow mechanism of different types of working fluids incorporated with Marangoni effect in a microelectronics cooling device. It is known that surface tension gradient effect or thermocapillary effect can be induced by temperature gradient which leads to the thermocapillary flow. By adding a small quantity of alcohol into the pure working fluid, the characteristics of surface tension can be altered without changing other thermo physical properties of the working fluid. A theoretical model is employed to focus on the suppression of thermocapillary effect in evaporating thin liquid film. The study reveals the fluid flow mechanism of a working fluid can be altered with thermocapillary effect. Thermal performance of microelectronics cooling devices can also be enhanced by utilizing aqueous solution as the working fluid.