Flow Boiling Dynamics of Water and Nanofluids in a Single Microchannel at Different Heat Fluxes

The preferable cooling solution to the problem of thermal management of modern electronics for increasing power dissipation could be micro heat exchangers based on forced flow boiling. Nanoparticle deposition can affect nucleate boiling heat transfer coefficient via alteration of surface thermal conductivity, roughness, capillary wicking, wettability, and nucleation site density. It can also affect heat transfer by changing bubble departure diameter, bubble departure frequency, and the evaporation of the micro and macrolayer beneath the growing bubbles. In this study, flow boiling was investigated using degassed, deionized water, and 0.001 vol% aluminum oxide nanofluids in a single rectangular brass microchannel for one inlet fluid temperature of 63°C, one flow rate of Re = 100, and two heat fluxes of 130 kW/m² and 300 kW/m². High speed images were taken periodically for water and after durations of 25, 75, and 125 minutes of nanofluid flow boiling. The change in regime timing revealed the effect of nanoparticle suspension and nanoparticle deposition on the Onset of Nucelate Boiling (ONB) and the Onset of Bubble Elongation (OBE). Single phase flows at the channel outlet were recorded and compared for different durations of nanofluid flow boiling. The addition of nanoparticles was found to stabilize bubble nucleation and growth and increase heat transfer in the thin film regions of the evaporating menisci.