Acoustic-driven nanofluids for phase-change thermal management of electronic devices

Abstract

Thermal management in confined spaces presents a critical challenge for electronic device performance. Two-phase cooling demonstrates exceptional heat transfer capabilities in compact environments through latent heat utilization during phase change process. However, vapor film formation occurs prematurely due to bubble adhesion and accumulation in confined spaces. This study develops a low-power acoustic-enabled microchannel cooling system coupled with nanofluids, achieving significant thermal enhancement through combined active-passive strategies. Rapid synthesis of nanofluids is realized by high-throughput microreactor. Acoustic excitation facilitates bubble detachment and migration to delay vapor film formation, while nanofluids substantially increase nucleation site density and enhance shrinkage of dry spots. These effects collectively enhance critical heat flux (CHF), maximize heat transfer coefficient (HTC), and reduce surface temperature. At the flow velocity of 0.1 m·s⁻¹, the integration of 0.01 wt% nanofluid with acoustics results in a 52 % enhancement in CHF and a 74 % improvement in HTC, along with a notable 13.2 K decrease in surface temperature. The combination of bubble tracking and clustering algorithms quantitatively analyzes bubble dynamics and nucleation characteristics, elucidating the fundamental mechanisms behind performance improvement.