A review of computational modelling of flow boiling in microchannels

Abstract

Flow boiling in microchannels has received enormous interest in academic research over the past few decades because of its importance in the thermal management of micro-structured devices. A vast number of experimental and theoretical studies have been reported and an increasing number of computational studies of microchannel flow boiling have been performed in the past few years. This article provides a review of the previous studies of flow boiling in microchannels, with a focus on the computational work. We present the governing equations, boundary conditions, numerical methods and the mathematical treatment of phase change used. Some important numerical studies are reviewed in detail and their strengths and weaknesses are presented. Finally, a summary of the current status of modelling in this area is provided.