Flow Boiling in Microgaps for Thermal Management of High Heat Flux Microsystems

Abstract

In the first part of this paper, a review of fundamental experimental studies on flow boiling in plain and surface enhanced microgaps is presented. In the second part, complimentary to the literature review, new results of subcooled flow boiling of water through a micropin-fin array heat sink with outlet pressure below atmospheric are presented. A 200 μm high microgap device design was tested, with a longitudinal pin pitch of 225 μm, a transverse pitch of 135 μm, and a diameter of 90 μm, respectively. Tested mass fluxes ranged from 1351 to 1784  kg/m2s, and effective heat flux ranged from 198 to 444 W/cm2 based on the footprint surface area. The inlet temperature varied from 6 to 12 °C, and outlet pressure ranged from 24 to 36 kPa. The two-phase heat transfer coefficient showed a decreasing trend with increasing heat flux. High-speed visualizations of flow patterns revealed a triangular wake after bubble nucleation. Flow oscillations were seen and discussed.