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

A microchannel test section comprised of parallel square microchannels with a 25 x 25 mu m and 50 x 50 mu m 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. (C) 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.