Microelectronic Cooling by Enhanced Pool Boiling of a Dielectric Fluorocarbon Liquid

An experimental study of boiling heat transfer from a simulated microelectronic component immersed in a stagnant pool of the dielectric Fluorinert (FC-72) is presented. Various enhancement surfaces were attached to an electrically heated copper calorimeter bar having a vertically oriented heat transfer surface area of 12.7×12.7 mm². A number of enhancement schemes aimed at a reduction of the incipience temperature overshoot were tested, employing various arrangements of fins, studs, grooves, and vapor-trapping cavities. Atmospheric pressure testing revealed a variation in the magnitude of boiling curve incipience temperature excursion as a function of both macro- and microcharacterization of the surface geometry and initial conditions (pressure and temperature history) prior to boiling. Increased incipience temperatures accompanied prolonged periods of nonboiling. It is assumed that this is due to vapor embryos within surface cavities collapsing to smaller radii. Large artificially created cavities (0.3 mm diameter) were found incapable of maintaining a stable vapor embryo for time periods greater than 10 min. In comparison to flat surfaces, low-profile surface geometries having a structure scale of the order of one bubble departure diameter resulted in significant enhancement of nucleate boiling while drilled surfaces had minimal effectiveness. Surface finish and artificial cavities had no effect on CHF, but levels of critical heat flux computed on base area were strongly dependent on macrogeometry, due in part to increased surface area.