Analytical Modeling of Annular Flow Boiling Heat Transfer in Mini- and Microchannel Heat Sinks

Abstract

An analytical model is proposed to predict the flow boiling heat transfer coefficient in the annular flow regime in mini- and microchannel heat sinks based on the separated model. The modeling procedure includes a formulation for determining the heat transfer coefficient based on the wall shear stress and the local thermophysical characteristics of the fluid based on the Reynolds’ analogy. The frictional and acceleration pressure gradients within the channel are incorporated into the present model to provide a better representation of the flow conditions. The model is validated against collected data sets from the literature produced by different authors under different experimental conditions, different fluids, and with mini- and microchannels of hydraulic diameters falling within the range of 92–1440 μm. The accuracy between the experimental and predicted results is achieved with a mean absolute error of 10%. The present analytical model can correctly predict the different trends of the heat transfer coefficient reported in the literature as a function of the exit quality. The predicted two-phase heat transfer coefficient is found to be very sensitive to changes in mass flux and saturation temperature. However, it is found to be mildly sensitive to the change in heat flux.