Experimental study of flow boiling cooling in a novel variable density pin–fin device

Flow boiling is an effective cooling technique for microelectronic systems. However, it presents flow instability issues, most of them associated with critical heat flux situations. In recent years, decreasing variable density microstructured heatsinks have been successfully tested, proving that wit...

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Detalhes bibliográficos
Autores: Camarasa, Jaume, Vilarrubí, Montse, Ibáñez, Manuel, Rosell, Pol, Beberide, David, Barrau, Jérôme
Formato: artículo
Estado:Versión publicada
Fecha de publicación:2025
País:España
Recursos:Varias* (Consorci de Biblioteques Universitáries de Catalunya, Centre de Serveis Científics i Acadèmics de Catalunya)
Repositorio:Recercat. Dipósit de la Recerca de Catalunya
OAI Identifier:oai:recercat.cat:10459.1/467612
Acesso em linha:https://doi.org/10.1016/j.applthermaleng.2025.126023
https://hdl.handle.net/10459.1/467612
Access Level:acceso abierto
Palavra-chave:Flow boiling
Pin-fins
Jet-impingement
Descrição
Resumo:Flow boiling is an effective cooling technique for microelectronic systems. However, it presents flow instability issues, most of them associated with critical heat flux situations. In recent years, decreasing variable density microstructured heatsinks have been successfully tested, proving that with a suitable pathway design, the flow boiling instabilities can be mitigated. However, increasing variable density design remains largely unexplored, despite obtaining promising results in single-phase applications. The present work is an experimental study that analyzes the flow boiling performance of a novel increasing density pin–fin array with jet impingement technology. Working with DI water at atmospheric pressure, for an inlet temperature of 75 °C (inlet subcooling of 30 K), 3 flow rates (100–150–200 ml/min) were performed under heat fluxes up to 55 W/cm2. Focusing on the cooling device design, thermofluidic studies were carried out, supported by high-speed flow visualization. The results demonstrated that this unique cooling device reduces bubble blockage while enhancing bubble breakage and departure. In terms of flow patterns, bubbly, plug, slug and annular flow were observed. The main heat transfer mechanisms detected were single-phase convection, saturated boiling, nucleated boiling and film evaporation. The highest heat transfer coefficient (hth) was obtained for the 200 ml/min test and had a value of 9323 W/°C·m2. The maximum critical heat flux (CHF) achieved was 58.11 W/cm2 for the 200 ml/min test. A flow boiling performance evaluation was carried out using the dimensionless Boiling utilization (Bu) number. Compared to existing literature, this novel cooling device emerges as one promising solution.