Flow Boiling in Mini and Microchannels

Flow boiling heat transfer characteristics of water and hydrocarbons in mini and microchannels are experimentally studied. Two different test section geometries are employed; a circular channel with a hydraulic diameter of 1500 μm, and rectangular channels with height values of 300–700 μm and a width of 10mm. In both facilities the fluid flows upwards and the test sections, made of the nickel alloy Inconel 600, are directly electrically heated. Thus the evaporation takes place under the defined boundary condition of constant heat flux. Mass fluxes between 25 and 350 kg/(m²s) and heat fluxes from 20 to 350 kW/m² at an inlet pressure of 0.3 MPa are examined. Infrared thermography is applied to scan the outer wall temperatures. These allow the identification of different boiling regions, boiling mechanisms and the determination of the local heat transfer coefficients. Measurements are carried out in initial, saturated and post-dryout boiling regions. The experimental results in the region of saturated boiling are compared with available correlations and with a physically founded model developed for convective boiling.