Droplet impact dynamics and transient heat transfer of a micro spray system for power electronics devices

Abstract

We present a study on the instantaneous heat transfer and droplet impact dynamics caused by multiple streams of water impinging on a polished surface with a constant heat flux (0.1–0.9W/cm2) heating applicable to power electronics’ thermal configuration design. A multiple spray was produced by a commercial piezoelectric atomization plate (power=1.5W and frequency 104kHz) with three different nozzle arrays of dj=7μm, 10μm and 35μm and a corresponding mass flow rate of 4.42×10−5kg/s, 1.11×10−4kg/s and 1.15×10−4kg/s, respectively. A heater consisting of an ultra-thin layer (∼200nm) of Indium Tin Oxide (ITO) combined with quartz glass (0.3mm thickness) substrate was used to characterize the cooling history and droplet impact hydrodynamics. Through optical visualization from a bottom view, the transient impact droplets’ morphology and the, surface temperature distribution, were measured and extracted to obtain the evolved film thickness. The effects of nozzle diameter, in addition to the spray height and the initial surface temperature on heat transfer for very short periods of time (<1s), were studied. Furthermore, the resultant transient (∼1s) cooling performance and heat transfer coefficient were secured and discussed.