Heat Transfer and Fluid Flow Characteristics of Nonboiling Two-Phase Flow in Microchannels

Abstract

In this study, heat transfer and fluid flow characteristics of nonboiling two-phase flow in microchannels were experimentally investigated. The effects of channel diameter (140, 222, 334, and 506 μm) on the Nusselt number and the pressure drop were considered. Air and water were used as the test fluids. Results were presented for the Nusselt number and the pressure drop over a wide range of gas superficial velocity (1.24–40.1 m/s), liquid superficial velocity (0.57–2.13 m/s), and wall heat flux (0.34–0.95 MW/m2). The results showed that the Nusselt number increased with increasing gas flow rate for the large channels of 506 and 334 μm, while the Nusselt number decreased with increasing gas flow for the small channels of 222 and 140 μm. Based on these experimental results, a new correlation for the forced convection Nusselt number was developed. In addition, the two-phase friction multiplier is shown to decrease as channel diameter decreases due to the influence of viscous and surface tension forces.