An open superhydrophilic microchannel heat sink for thin film boiling with a high coefficient of performance

Abstract

Currently, the existing two-phase boiling heat transfer technologies have limitations in extremely narrow spaces and cannot satisfy the high heat flux dissipation requirements of highly integrated and ultrathin devices. In this study, a high-efficiency and low-cost open superhydrophilic microchannel heat sink with a micro/nanocomposite structure, negligible pumping energy, and a high coefficient of performance (COP) was achieved. The wettability and microscopic morphology of the different heat sinks as well as the variation in the critical heat flux (CHF) and heat transfer coefficient (HTC) at different mass fluxes were discussed. When the mass flux was 0.05 kg/m2⋅s, the CHF of the microgrooved composite nanostructured copper (MCNC) heat sink was 173.90 W/cm2, which was 182.80% higher than that of the smooth copper (SC) heat sink and 20% higher than that of the microgrooved copper (MC) heat sink. In addition, the highest CHF of 325.90 W/cm2 was obtained for the MCNC at a 0.15 kg/m2⋅s mass flux. The high CHF of thin film boiling was achieved at a low inlet water pressure. This resulted in a COP of 695,600 for this boiling method, which is a larger value than that in most reports thus far. This study provides a preliminary investigation of the thin film boiling performance for an open microchannel. This may provide a new solution to the challenge of high heat flux dissipation in extreme spaces.