Numerical study of bubble growth and wall heat transfer during flow boiling in a microchannel

A numerical study has been performed to analyze the wall heat transfer mechanisms during growth of a vapor bubble inside a microchannel. The microchannel is of 200 μm square cross section and a vapor bubble begins to grow at one of the walls, with liquid coming in through the channel inlet. The complete Navier–Stokes equations along with continuity and energy equations are solved using the SIMPLER method. The liquid vapor interface is captured using the level set technique. Experiments have been conducted to validate the numerical model. The bubble growth rate and shapes show good agreement between numerical and experimental results. The numerical results show that the wall heat transfer increases with wall superheat but stays almost unaffected by the liquid flow rate. The liquid vapor surface tension value has little influence on bubble growth and wall heat transfer. However, the bubble with the lowest contact angle resulted in the highest wall heat transfer.     

微通道内气体-近壁颗粒流动传热数值模拟研究

数值模拟了微通道受限空间内气体-近璧颗粒流动与传热过程,所建模型考虑微尺度气体的可压缩与交物性特征,且在通道和颗粒壁面采用速度滑移和温度跳跃边界条件以考虑滑移区气体动量/能量非连续效应.在此基础上,计算分析了克努森数(Kn)和颗粒偏移比对颗粒表面拖曳力系数(CD)以及传热努塞尔数(Nu)的影响规律.研究结果表明:受气体...     

Numerical simulation of roughness effects on flow and heat transfer in microchannels at slip flow regime

A numerical simulation for studying fluid flow and heat transfer characteristics in microchannels at slip flow regime with consideration of slip and temperature jump is studied. The wall roughness is simulated in two cases with periodically distributed triangular microelements and random shaped micro peaks distributed on the wall surfaces. Various Knudsen numbers have used to investigate the effects of rarefaction. The numerical results have also checked with available theoretical and experimental relations and good agreements has achieved. It has been found that rarefaction has more significant effect on flow field in microchannels with higher relative roughness. The negative influence of roughness on fluid flow and heat transfer found to be the friction factor increment and Nusselt number reduction. In addition high influence of roughness distribution and shape has been shown by a comparison of Poiseuille and Nusselt numbers for tow different cases.     

Numerical simulation of heat transfer enhancement in wavy microchannel heat sink

In this paper, heat transfer and water flow characteristics in wavy microchannel heat sink (WMCHS) with rectangular cross-section with various wavy amplitudes ranged from 125 to 500 μm is numerically investigated. This investigation covers Reynolds number in the range of 100 to 1000. The three-dimensional steady, laminar flow and heat transfer governing equations are solved using the finite-volume method (FVM). The water flow field and heat transfer phenomena inside the heated wavy microchannels is simulated and the results are compared with the straight microchannels. The effect of using a wavy flow channel on the MCHS thermal performance, the pressure drop, the friction factor, and wall shear stress is reported in this article. It is found that the heat transfer performance of the wavy microchannels is much better than the straight microchannels with the same cross-section. The pressure drop penalty of the wavy microchannels is much smaller than the heat transfer enhancement achievement. Both friction factor and wall shear stress are increased proportionally as the amplitude of wavy microchannels increased.     

Numerical simulation of fluid flow and heat transfer in a microchannel heat sink with offset fan-shaped reentrant cavities in sidewall

The paper is focused on the investigation of fluid flow and heat transfer characteristics in a microchannel heat sink with offset fan-shaped reentrant cavities in sidewall. In contrast to the new microchannel heat sink, the corresponding conventional rectangular microchannel heat sink is chosen. The computational fluid dynamics is used to simulate the flow and heat transfer in the heat sinks. The steady, laminar flow and heat transfer equations are solved in a finite-volume method. The SIMPLEX method is used for the computations. The effects of flow rate and heat flux on pressure drop and heat transfer are presented. The results indicate that the microchannel heat sink with offset fan-shaped reentrant cavities in sidewall improved heat transfer performance with an acceptable pressure drop. The fluid flow and heat transfer mechanism of the new microchannel heat sink can attribute to the interaction of the increased heat transfer surface area, the redeveloping of the hydraulic and thermal boundary layers, the jet and throttling effects and the slipping over the reentrant cavities. The increased heat transfer surface area and the periodic thermal developing flow are responsible for the significant heat transfer enhancement. The jet and throttling effects enhance heat transfer, simultaneously increasing pressure drop. The slipping over the reentrant cavities reduces pressure drop, but drastically decreases heat transfer.     

平行流热管管内流动与传热的数值模拟研究

为研究平行流热管的工作机理,本文基于Fluent软件中的VOF模型编写了蒸发冷凝相变的UDF程序,对不同功率下平行流热管管内两相流动和传热过程进行了数值模拟研究。模拟结果显示了初始阶段平行流热管管内的气液分布,启动阶段管内包括泡状流、弹状流、环状流等复杂流型的转变过程,稳定工作阶段工质在各并联管路中互激振荡流动。在高加热功率下,管内工质的互激振荡流动更为剧烈,热量输送距离更远。研究结果为平行流热管换热器的优化设计提供了参考依据。     

Numerical study of fluid flow and heat transfer in microchannel cooling passages

Numerical investigation was conducted for fluid flow and heat transfer in microchannel cooling passages. Effects of viscosity and thermal conductivity variations on characteristics of fluid flow and heat transfer were taken into account in theoretical modeling. Two-dimensional simulation was performed for low Reynolds number flow of liquid water in a 100 μm single channel subjected to localized heat flux boundary conditions. The velocity field was highly coupled with temperature distribution and distorted through the variations of viscosity and thermal conductivity. The induced cross-flow velocity had a marked contribution to the convection. The heat transfer enhancement due to viscosity-variation was pronounced, though the axial conduction introduced by thermal-conductivity-variation was insignificant unless for the cases with very low Reynolds numbers.     

Numerical simulation of fluid flow and heat transfer in a trapezoidal microchannel with COMSOL multiphysics: A case study

In this study, fluid flow and heat transfer in a trapezoidal microchannel are numerically investigated. For this purpose, a reference study with experimental and numerical solutions is adopted from the literature and solved with COMSOL multiphysics. Good agreement with the results of the reference work is obtained. In addition, effects of stabilization methods and element discretization options that are offered by the program on the results are investigated and discussed with examples. In addition, two different versions of the same program are compared on the effect of stabilization methods on results. Last, some comments on the level of relative tolerance are provided.     

Slip-flow and heat transfer of gaseous flows in the entrance of a wavy microchannel

The present work investigates the developing fluid flow and heat transfer through a wavy microchannel with numerical methods. Governing equations including continuity, momentum and energy with the velocity slip and temperature jump conditions at the solid walls are discretized using the finite-volume method and solved by SIMPLE algorithm in curvilinear coordinate. The effects of creep flow and viscous dissipation are assumed. The numerical results are obtained for various Knudsen numbers. The results show that Knudsen number has declining effect on both the C_f.Re and Nusselt number on the undeveloped fluid flow. Significant viscous dissipation effects have been observed for large Knudsen number. Also, viscous dissipation causes a singular point in Nusselt profiles.     

Numerical study of nanofluids condensation heat transfer in a square microchannel

ABSTRACT

This paper presents a numerical study of nanofluids condensation heat transfer inside a single horizontal smooth square tube. The numerical results are compared with the previous experimental predictions. The numerical results show that the heat transfer coefficient could be improved within 20% by increasing the volume fraction of Cu nanoparticle by 5% or by increasing the mass flux from 80 to 110 kg/m² s. Reducing the hydraulic diameter of the microchannel from 200 to 160 µm leads to an increase in the condensation average heat transfer coefficient by 10%. A new correlation estimating the Nusselt number for the condensation of nanofluids or pure vapor is proposed. It predicts average condensation heat transfer with a good agreement with those computed.     

Heat transfer of a parallel flow two-layered microchannel heat sink

A numerical study is conducted to predict the thermal performance of a parallel flow two-layered microchannel heat sink on heat transfer and compared to the case of counterflow for various channel aspect ratios. Findings reveal that the parallel flow configuration leads to a better heat transfer performance except for high Reynolds number and high channel aspect ratio. Further study on the horizontal rib thickness shows that lower thermal resistance can be achieved in a parallel flow two-layered microchannel heat sink with smaller thickness of middle rib.     

The heat transfer and fluid flow of a partially heated microchannel heat sink

Numerical modeling of the conjugate heat transfer in microchannel heat sink is presented. As the most of the cooling applications deals with the partial heated sections, the influence of the heating position on the thermal and hydrodynamic behavior is analyzed. The laminar fluid flow regime and the water as a working fluid are considered. It is observed that partial heating together with variable viscosity has a strong influence on thermal and hydrodynamic characteristics of the micro-heat sink.     

矩形微通道中流体流动阻力和换热特性实验研究

以去离子水为流体工质,对其在矩形微尺度通道中的流动阻力和传热特性进行了实验研究。通过测量流量、进出口压力和温度等参数,获得了流体流过微通道时的摩擦阻力系数、对流换热过程中的热流通量和N u等。微尺度通道中流体流动的摩擦阻力系数较常规尺度通道中的摩擦阻力系数小,仅是常规尺度通道中摩擦阻力系数的20%~30%;且流动状态由层流向湍流转捩的临界R e也远小于常规尺度通道的。微尺度通道中对流换热的N u与常规尺度通道的显著不同。流量较小时,N u较常规尺度通道中充分发展段的小;随着水流量的增加,微通道的N u迅速增加,并很快超过常规尺度通道的N u,表现出微尺度效应。热流通量对微尺度通道中对流换热N u存在影响,其影响规律在不同流速条件下呈不同趋势,流速较小时,N u基本保持不变;而在流速较大时,N u随热流通量增加而呈增加趋势。     

The effect of axial conduction on heat transfer in a liquid microchannel flow

Analysis is presented for conjugate heat transfer in a parallel-plate microchannel. Axial conduction in the fluid and in the adjacent wall are included. The fluid is a constant property liquid with a fully-developed velocity distribution. The microchannel is heated by a uniform heat flux applied to the outside of the channel wall. The analytic solution is given in the form of integrals by the method of Green’s functions. Quadrature is used to obtain numerical results for the local and average Nusselt number for various flow velocities, heating lengths, wall thicknesses, and wall conductivities. These results have application in the optimal design of small-scale heat transfer devices in areas such as biomedical devices, electronic cooling, and advanced fuel cells.     

Numerical simulation of asymmetrical flow and heat transfer behind a hill in shear flows

Three‐dimensional numerical simulations of asymmetrical flows and heat transfer around a hill in shear flows were performed. When shear velocity distributions are introduced at the inlet, a vortex pair is formed asymmetrically to the spanwise direction behind the hill. Further, an asymmetrical hairpin vortex is periodically generated downstream. The leg of the asymmetrical hairpin vortex on the high‐speed side collapses first. Further downstream, the asymmetrical hairpin vortex breaks down earlier than the symmetrical hairpin vortex, and streamwise vortices appear on the high‐speed side. These streamwise vortices increase the heat transfer downstream. In contrast, no hairpin vortex appears in the case of a strong shear velocity distribution, but instead a streamwise vortex appears. The heat transfer decreases downstream since the turbulence generated by streamwise vortices is weak. © 2008 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Heat Trans Asian Res; Published online in Wiley InterScience ( www.interscience.wiley.com ). DOI 10.1002/htj.20223     

Hydrodynamics and heat transfer during flow boiling instabilities in a single microchannel

Boiling in microchannels is widely considered as one of the front runners in process intensification heat removal. Flow boiling heat transfer in microchannel geometry and the associated flow instabilities are not well understood, further research is necessary into the flow instabilities adverse effect on heat transfer.Boiling is induced in microchannel geometry (hydraulic diameter 727 μm) to investigate several flow instabilities. A transparent, metallic, conductive deposit has been developed on the exterior of rectangular microchannels, allowing simultaneous heating and visualisation.Presented in this paper is data for a particular case with a uniform heat flux of 4.26 kW/m² applied to the microchannel and inlet liquid mass flowrate, held constant at 1.13 × 10^?5 kg/s. In conjunction with obtaining high-speed images, a sensitive infrared camera is used to record the temperature profiles on the exterior wall of the microchannel, and a data acquisition system is used to record the pressure fluctuations over time. Various phenomena are apparent during the flow instabilities; these can be characterised into timescales occurring at 100’s seconds, 10’s seconds, several seconds and finally milliseconds. Correlation of pressure oscillations with temperature fluctuations as a function of the heat flux applied to the microchannel is possible.From analysis of our results, images and video sequences with the corresponding physical data obtained, it is possible to follow simultaneously particular flow, pressure and temperature conditions leading to nucleate boiling, flow instabilities and transition regimes during flow boiling in a microchannel. The investigation allowed us to quantify and characterise the timescales of various observed instabilities during flow boiling in a microchannel. High speed imaging revealed some of the controlling physical mechanisms responsible for the observed instabilities.     

复合翅片传热与流动特性的数值模拟

结合纵向涡发生器和开缝的优点,提出一种复合强化传热翅片,并对该种翅片的传热与流动特性进行数值计算.由于翅片结构比较复杂,在三角形小翼及X形开缝区域应用阶梯逼近进行网格划分.复合翅片的强化作用在于两方面:一是在三角形小翼和X形开缝后的流场均产生了纵向涡,对流体产生较强的扰动;二是带状开缝的间断表面抑制了边界层的增长,平均...     

错列翅片紧凑式换热器湍流流动及换热性能的数值研究

采用高雷诺数κ-ε湍流模型，对中高雷诺数下紧凑式错列翅片换热器的表面换热及流动特性进行数值模拟。结果表明，该种型式的换热器具有良好的流动和换热性能，拓宽了其空调领域的应用。