DEVELOPMENT OF HEAT EXCHANGER WITH TWO-PASS DIVERGING MICROCHANNELS FOR EVAPORATION COOLING SYSTEMS

Abstract

This study developed a two-pass diverging microchannel heat exchanger to avoid flow reversal and partial dry out of HFC-245fa flow boiling in the evaporation cooling systems. It is aimed to improve the diverging microchannel heat exchangers designed by previous studies and to effectively accommodate diverging channels on a limited heating base surface. The test results showed that the maximum heat transfer coefficients in a diverging channel heat exchanger were as much as 20% higher than those in straight channel heat exchanger, while the maximum partial dry-out heat flux is 42% higher in diverging channel heat exchanger. There is no significant difference for the pressure drops in two heat exchangers at low heat fluxes before it reached the partial dry-out condition. For higher flux, the pressure drops in straight channels were higher than those in divergent channels while partial dry out. It is concluded that the two-pass diverging channel design provided higher maximum heat transfer coefficients and higher maximum heat fluxes with lower penalties of pressure drops. It could be a good design to replace the conventional straight channel heat exchanger for evaporation cooling systems.