Experimental Investigation of Spray Cooling Heat Transfer on Circular Grooved Surface

Abstract

An experimental study was conducted in a closed loop spray cooling system working with deionized water as a cooling medium, to investigate the effects of surface modification on the spray cooling heat transfer enhancement in the single-phase region. Plain copper surface with diameter 1.5 cm and an enhanced surface with circular grooves were tested under different operating conditions. The volumetric flow rate of the coolant ranged from 115 mL/min to 177 mL/min., and the water inlet temperature was kept between 21–23 °C. Also, the distances between the nozzle and the target surface were varied at 8, 10, and 12 mm respectively. The results show that the distance between the nozzle and the target surface did not have a significant effect on the heat transfer performance for the low flow rates, while it has a slight effect on high flow rates for both surfaces. Also, increasing the liquid volumetric flow rate increases the amount of heat removed, and the heat transfer coefficient for both surfaces. Moreover, the maximum enhancement ratios achieved were 23.4% and 31% with volumetric flow rates of 153 mL/min, and 177 mL/min respectively.