Experiment and CFD Simulation of HFE-7100 Boiling from Onset to Dry-out in a Vertical Mini-channel

Abstract

- Using a boiling fluid, to cool electronic components, is a very efficient mode of heat transfer to dissipate high fluxes, often used in a micro/mini channel flow. In addition, the prediction of the critical heat flux (CHF) is interesting for damage prevention. For such applications, better designs require to understand confined convective boiling and to accurately quantify the local heat transfer. Two-phase CFD modelling of such flows helps in the design of cooling systems. This paper introduces the comparison between experimental and Computational Fluid Dynamic (CFD) simulation results of boiling heat transfer of HFE-7100 in a vertical mini channel. The channel is rectangular, 1 mm deep, 30 mm wide and 120 mm long. Measurements and simulations are carried out from the onset of boiling to dry-out, for three mass fluxes (G =140, 390 and 648 kg/(m².s)). The main objective of the experiment is to determine the heat transfer and to characterize the dry-out phenomenon. The local heat transfer coefficient is evaluated using a 2D inverse heat conduction method. An Eulerian multiphase 2D approach with Critical Heat Flux (CHF) wall boiling model is used to simulate the two-phase flow. Finally, the comparison between CFD and experimental boiling curve and axial heat transfer coefficient profiles are illustrated. The numerical simulation shows a satisfactory prediction of the experimental heat transfer coefficients and the dry-out occurrence.