Film Thickness and Heat Transfer Measurements in a Spray Cooling System With R134a

Abstract

Experimental measurements in a spray cooling test rig have been carried out for several heat fluxes in the heater and different spray volumetric fluxes with the dielectric refrigerant R134a. Results of the heat transfer and the sprayed refrigerant film thickness measurements are presented. The film thickness measurements have been made with a high speed camera equipped with a long distance microscope. It has been found that there is a relation between the variation in the average Nusselt number and the film thickness along the spray cooling boiling curve. The heat transfer regimes along that curve are related not only with a variation in the average Nusselt number but also with changes in the film thickness. The qualitative analysis of those variations has served to understand better the heat transfer mechanisms occurring during the spray cooling.