Experimental Study on the Effect of Stabilization on Flow Boiling Heat Transfer in Microchannels

The effect of flow instabilities on flow boiling heat transfer in microchannels is investigated using water as the working fluid. The experimental test section has six parallel rectangular microchannels with each having a cross sectional area of 1054 × 197 microns. Flow restrictors are introduced at the inlet of each microchannel to stabilize the flow boiling process and avoid the backflow phenomena. The mass flow rate, inlet temperature of water, and the electric current supplied to the resistive cartridge heater are controlled to provide quantitative heat transfer information. The results are compared with the unrestricted flow configuration.