Diabatic flow boiling in circular transparent microchannels

Abstract

The horizontally assembled circular microchannel (Dh= 543μm, LHT = 60mm) made of transparent borosilicate glass is kept under constant wall heat flux conditions by means of a transparent metallic thin film deposit at the channel external wall as in Silvério and Moreira [1]. Heat transfer and pressure drop measurements are achieved by measuring the temperature and pressure at the channel inlet and outlet. Temperature is also measured along the channel outer wall. Experiments are carried with two different fluids, ethanol and methanol. Inlet liquid subcooling is of 297K, mass fluxes, G, up to 689kg.m-2.s-1 and imposed heat fluxes, q"s, up to 12.5W.cm-2 at ΔTsub from 0.8 to 50K. Synchronized high-speed visualization and microscope optics are used to determine dominant two-phase flow patterns and characterize hydrodynamic instabilities. Vapor qualities, χ, of -0.1 (indicating a subcooled liquid state) to 0.5 are under investigation. Semi-periodic variation of the flow patterns is noticeable for different flow conditions. © Published under licence by IOP Publishing Ltd.