Experimental Investigation on Flow Boiling Heat Transfer Characteristics of Water Inside Micro/Nanostructured-Coated Minichannel

Abstract

There are several industrial applications where boiling is used, for example boilers, refrigeration systems, nuclear reactor cooling, and microelectronic chip cooling. Experimental research has been carried out to determine the flow boiling heat transfer capabilities of copper-alumina-coated surfaces for application in heat transfer equipment. De-ionized (DI) water is used as the coolant for experimentations in a minichannel with dimensions 10 × 1.5 × 10 mm. Copper surfaces coated with thin copper-alumina nanocomposite films are created using the electrodeposition process. The coated layer created using an electrochemical technique offers strong adhesiveness with the base copper and is therefore anticipated to be suitable for real-world heat transfer appliances as part of the ongoing scientific development in subcooled flow boiling. The electrochemical technique offers easier control over its various parameters, such as current density, duration and electrolyte composition, making it possible to easily achieve a variety of surface characteristics, such as crystallinity, wettability and porosity. as required in the coated surfaces. Additionally, the copper-alumina is a hydrothermally stable oxide material that is well suited for use in boiling heat transfer devices. The boiling (subcooled flow) heat transfer tests are carried out at various mass flows. The improvement in the two-phase heat transfer coefficient (HTC) and critical heat flux (CHF) can reach up to 90 % and 93 %, respectively. The coated surfaces have improved CHF and HTC because of improved wettability, increased surface roughness, and the existence of active nucleate sites in high-density.