Critical Heat Flux in Microchannels: Experimental Issues and Guidelines for Measurement

Critical heat flux limit is an important consideration in the design of any flow boiling unit. Before the use of microchannels under flow boiling conditions becomes widely accepted in critical applications, such as electronics cooling and laser lenses, it is essential to develop CHF data for microchannels. The experiments required to obtain this information pose unique challenges as the channel dimensions become smaller. The issues of parallel channel instability, experimental control, experimental uncertainty, and conjugate effects need to be carefully addressed. These issues are addressed in the present paper, and guidelines helpful in the design of CHF experiments are outlined.