Exploring heat transfer efficiency in non-boiling spray cooling

Abstract

Spray cooling today is one of the most effective methods for high heat flux application. Since there are numerous factors influencing the heat transfer in spray cooling, some issues related to the effect of the nozzle-to-surface distance, heat flux and liquid subcooling on the heat transfer efficiency in non-boiling mode remain debated. This study is dedicated to a comprehensive experimental investigation of the impact of various factors, including the distance from the nozzle to the heater (2–35 mm), heat flux density (up to 6.9 MW/m2), liquid flow rate (8.8–25.2 mL/s), and initial liquid temperature (20 and 80 °C) on heat transfer in non-boiling spray cooling using different nozzles with varying spray angles (30–90°). Heat transfer results were obtained based on field temperature measurements using high-speed infrared thermography. It is shown that the nozzle-to-surface distance has a significant effect on the spatial distribution of the temperature field and the heat transfer rate in spray cooling. It is shown that for each nozzle and heating surface there is an optimum distance at which the maximum heat transfer rate at non-boiling spray cooling is observed and relationship for their determination are proposed. The heat transfer coefficient for deeply subcooled liquid (80 K) is practically independent of the heat flux. At low subcooling levels (20 K), the heat transfer coefficient increases with the increase in heat flux associated with the influence of evaporation from the liquid film surface on the total heat transfer. The results obtained are analyzed, compared and generalized with data from the literature, and a correlation is proposed for determining the heat transfer in non-boiling spray cooling.