Heat transfer performance of microchannels with different reentrant cavities based on field synergy principle and entropy production analysis

Abstract

The performance analysis of three types of microchannels with reentrant cavities were investigated in this study. The flow and heat transfer characteristics were analyzed according to the field synergy principle and entropy production. The results indicated that as the Reynolds number ranged from 200 to 1000, the Darcy friction factor of microchannels with reentrant cavities decreased sharply and then slowly. Among microchannels examined, a microchannel with circular reentrant cavities exhibited the smallest Darcy friction factor in the Reynolds number range of 200–1000. The Nusselt number of microchannels with reentrant cavities increased with the Reynolds number range of 200–1000. Among the microchannels, the microchannel with circular reentrant cavities had the largest Nusselt coefficient, from 6.07 to 10.29. According to the principle of field synergy, the heat transfer field of microchannel with circular reentrant cavities had the smallest synergy angle (α), from 85.1°to 83.2°, and the best field synergy. According to an analysis of the entropy production, the entropy production caused by heat transfer in microchannels with reentrant cavities gradually decreased as Reynolds number range from 200 to 1000. The microchannel with circular reentrant cavities had minimal entropy production caused by heat transfer; thus, it had the best heat transfer performance. The flow entropy production of microchannels with reentrant cavities increased with the Reynolds number. Among the microchannels, the microchannel with circular reentrant cavities had the smallest entropy production caused by flow. The present study aims to provide alternative ways to evaluate flow and heat transfer performance of microchannels.