Abstract
The efficient management of thermal systems is crucial for various technological applications, necessitating innovative cooling strategies to enhance performance and reduce entropy generation. Microchannels have emerged as a promising solution due to their high heat transfer rates and compact size. This study investigates the thermofluidic characteristics and entropy generation in straight, segmental, and rib-groove microchannels utilizing de-ionized water and microencapsulated phase change slurry (MPCMS) as working fluids. Employing numerical analysis, the investigation integrates a mixture model for the base fluid and micro-encapsulated phase change material (MPCM) using an equivalent heat capacity approach to incorporate the phase transition of the MPCM (composed of paraffin with a Ti shell). Operational parameters include an inlet fluid velocity ranging from 0.575 to 3.45 m/s, heat flux varying between 15 and 30 W/cm2, and MPCM volume fractions of 5% to 20%. The ANSYS Fluent Solver, a finite volume method using a multigrid solver, was used to control the simulation by species transport. Notably, segmental channels exhibit a notable decrease in wall temperature of 29.7% and 26.3% compared to straight and rib-groove channels, respectively, under constant heat flux and flow rate. However, the effectiveness of MPCM in enhancing thermal performance was greater in straight and rib-groove channels, surpassing segmental channels by 2.5% and 3.28%, respectively, under constant heat flux. On analyzing the irreversibility, segmental channels exhibit higher frictional entropy but lower thermal entropy generation due to the fin structure, resulting in an overall reduction in total entropy generation. Moreover, segmental microchannels, when utilizing MPCMS, demonstrate superior performance in reducing irreversibility by 60.66% and 49.6% compared to straight and rib-groove channels, respectively. Total entropy generation increases with higher velocity and heat flux, while it diminishes with higher MPCM concentration across all configurations.
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