Review and Comparative Analysis of Studies on Saturated Flow Boiling in Small Channels

Abstract

Recent studies relating to saturated flow boiling in minichannels and microchannels are reviewed, with a focus on the functional dependence of the heat transfer characteristics on thermodynamic vapor quality. While there is general agreement in the literature that the heat transfer coefficient increases with increases in heat flux, conflicting trends have been reported on the influence of vapor quality. A compilation and analysis of the results from recent investigations in the literature on flow boiling in small channels is presented. Further, correlations for flow boiling proposed in these studies are quantitatively assessed by comparing them against 10 independent data sets from the published literature covering a range of hydraulic diameters from 0.16 to 2.01 mm. Recommended topics for future research in this field are also identified.

[Supplemental materials are available for this article. Go to the publisher's online edition of Nanoscale and Microscale Thermophysical Engineering for the following free supplemental resources: an appendix containing heat transfer correlations and a database collected from the literature for flow boiling heat transfer in small channels.]

KEY WORDS:

• microchannel
• minichannel
• flow boiling
• heat transfer
• boiling
• vapor quality

The authors acknowledge financial support for this work from members of the Cooling Technologies Research Center, a National Science Foundation Industry/University Cooperative Research Center at Purdue University.

Notes

¹This appendix has been provided as a separate document to the Editor, with the understanding that it will either be included in the printed journal issue or provided as supplemental information on the journal Website.

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