Abstract
A new multi-furcated structure of tree-shaped mini-channel was proposed in this paper. Numerical simulation was conducted to analyze the flow boiling and bubble growth characteristics of water in the mini-channel. By using the constant wall temperature heating method, the model was divided into different sub-regions according to different wall temperatures. Typical bubbly flow and slug flow patterns were obtained through the monitoring of the boiling process. The simulation results showed that when the convective heat transfer dominated, the pressure drop maintained minor and stable; while the nucleate boiling dominated, the pressure drop increased significantly and fluctuated within a certain range. Moreover, with the increase of vapor quality, the heat transfer coefficient increased first and then decreased. It is also found that the geometric structure of the multi-furcated tree-shaped mini-channel had a great impact on the heat transfer characteristics, and simulation results agreed well with the theoretical values.
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