SIMULATIONOF

FLOW

BOILINGHEATTRANSFERINA
SINGLE
ICROCHANNEL
HORIZONTALM

A Thesis

of The Requirements For

Submitted In Partial Fulfillment
Awarding The Degree of

Master of Mechanical Engineering

In Faculty of Engineering and Technology

By
Submitted
Arup Mondal

Registration No. 86506 of 2003-04

Examination Roll No.
M4 MEC 13-22

Under The Supervision of

Dr. Arunabha Chanda

Department of Mechanical Engineering

Jadavpur University
Kolkata- 700032
SimulationofNucleateFlowBoilingHeat
2013

TransferinASingleHori

ThisThesisIs
DedicatedToMy
Parents.
Your unconditional love and constant
supporthaveledmeatleastthisfar.I
loveyou.

ii

FacultyofEngineeringandTechnology

DepartmentofMechanicalEngineering
JadavpurUniversity
Kolkata
2013

CERTIFICATEOFAPPROVAL
The forgoing thesis entitled Simulation of Flow Boiling Heat Transfer in a Single
Horizontal Microchannel is hereby approved as creditable study of Fluid Mechanics
and Hydraulics Engineering and presented in a manner satisfactory to warrant its
acceptance as a pre-requisite to the degree for which it has been submitted. It is
understood that by this approval, the undersigned, do not necessarily endorse or
approve any statement made, opinion expressed or conclusion drawn therein, but
approve the thesis only for the purpose for which it is submitted.
Committeeoffinalexaminationforevaluationofthesis

SignatureofExaminers

iii

FacultyofEngineeringandTechnology
DepartmentofMechanicalEngineering
JadavpurUniversity
Kolkata
2013

CERTIFICATEOFRECOMMENDATION
This is to certify that the thesis entitled, Simulation of Flow Boiling Heat Transfer
in a Single Horizontal Microchannel which is being submitted by Arup Mondal in
partial fulfilment of the requirements for the award of the degree of Master of
Mechanical Engineering in Faculty of Engineering and Technology of Jadavpur
University, Kolkata-700032, during the academic year 2011-2013, is the record of the
students own work carried by him under the supervision of Dr. Arunabha Chanda.

...

Dr.ArunabhaChanda
ThesisAdvisor
Dept.ofMechanicalEngineering
JadavpurUniversity
Kolkata

Dr.SadhanKumarGhosh
ProfessorandHead
Dept.ofMechanicalEngineering
JadavpurUniversity
Kolkata

iv

DECLARATIONOFORIGINALITYANDCOMPLIANCEOF
ACADEMICETHICS

I hereby declare that this thesis contains literature survey and original research work by the
undersigned candidate, as part of his Master of Mechanical Engineering studies.
All information in this document has been obtained and presented in accordance with
academic rules and ethical conduct.
I also declare that, as required by this rule and conduct, I have fully cited and referred all
material and results that are not original to this work.

Name

ArupMondal

ExaminationRollNo

M4MEC1322

Simulation of Flow Boiling Heat

ThesisTitle

Transfer in a Single Horizontal Microchannel

Signature :

Date

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
IwouldliketoexpressmysinceregratitudetoDr.ArunabhaChandafor
hisguidanceandassistanceinthisthesis.Hispromptresponsesinallthetechnical
andnontechnicalissuesduringtheproductionofthisworkhelpedmealot.His
encouragement and efforts led this report to successful completion in a timely
fashion.
I am thankful to Prof. Sadhan Kumar Ghosh, Head, Department of
Mechanical Engineering, Jadavpur University, for his constant help in different
academicandnonacademicmatters.
IamextendingmygratefulnesstoallmyclassmatesandcoworkersinCFD
laboratorywhoseaid&support,lendahandtoaccomplishthiswork.TheLibrary
staffs also helped me a lot by providing me a constant access to the relevant
textbooksandjournalsthatwereusefulinthisthesiswork.
Lastly I am thankful to all who have assisted me directly or indirectly to
completethiswork.

Date:

ArupMondal

JadavpurUniversity
Kolkata

vi

ABSTRACT
Boiling in microchannels is a very efficient mode of heat transfer in which very high heat
and mass transfer coefficients can be achieved. Pumping power required for two-phase
flows is lesser than single-phase liquid flows to achieve a given heat removal.
Applications include heat pumps, automotive air conditioners, electronics cooling etc.
A numerical study of two-phase flow through the microchannel has been carried out in
this study. The computational fluid dynamics (CFD) model equations are solved using
commercial software ANSYS Fluent 13.0 to understand the hydrodynamic and thermal
behavior of the two-phase flow through microchannel. The computational model has
been validated against available literature (Liu, Lee and Garimella, 2005). Water is used
as working fluid which enters the microchannel in liquid state.
The aim of this study is to understand the effects of different fluid inlet velocity & fluid
inlet temperature on the Onset of Nucleate Boiling in a microchannel. Also at various
Reynolds no. the effect on volume fraction of vapor, static temperature along the
wall and heat transfer coefficient at the heated wall is investigated.

vii

CONTENTS
Abstract

vii

Contents

viii

ListofFigures

ListofTables

xi

1. INTRODUCTION

(15)

1.2. ApplicationofComputationalFluidDynamics(CFD)

1.3. ObjectivesofThePresentWork

1.4. OutlineofTheReport

(635)

27

1.1. Microchannel&ItsUse

2. LITERATUREREVIEW

2.1. ExperimentalStudyofFluidFlowandHeatTransfer
inMicrochannels

2.2. Theoretical,NumericalandOtherStudiesRelatedto
FluidFlowandHeatTransferInMicrochannels

3. THEORITICALBACKGROUND

(3646)

3.1. FundamentalsofBoiling

36

3.1.1. PoolBoiling

37

3.1.2. FlowBoiling

39

3.2. Twophaseflowpatterns

42

45

(4754)

3.3. NonDimensionalNumbers/ParametersRelevantto
FlowBoilingHeatTransferinMicrochannel

4. COMPUTATIONALFLUIDDYNAMICSMODELEQUATIONS
4.1. SinglePhaseModelingEquations

47

4.1.1. MassConservationEquation

47

4.1.2. MomentumConservationEquation

48

viii

4.1.3. EnergyEquation

48

49

4.2.1. VolumeofFluid(VOF)Model

50

4.2. TwoPhaseModelingEquations

4.2.1.1.

VolumeFractionEquation

51

4.2.1.2.

MaterialProperties

51

4.2.1.3.

MomentumEquation

52

4.2.1.4.

EnergyEquation

52

4.2.2. MixtureModel

53

4.2.3. EulerianModel

53

(5561)

55

5.2. GeometryinAnsysWorkbench

56

5.3. MeshingofGeometry

56

5.4. MaterialProperties

57

5.5. GoverningEquations

58

5.6. BoundaryConditions

60

5.7. MethodofSolutions

60

5.8. GridIndependenceStudy

61

(6268)

62

63

63

5. SOLUTIONMETHODOLOGY
5.1. SpecificationofProblem

6. RESULTSANDDISCUSSION
6.1. Validation

6.2. EffectofVariousInletVelocityonIncipientHeatFlux

6.3. EffectofVariousReynoldsNo.onVolumeFractionofVapor,
StaticTemperature&HeatTransferCoefficientatthewall

7. CONCLUSIONSANDFUTURESCOPEOFWORK
7.1. Conclusions

(6970)

69

7.2. FuturescopeofWork

70

(7180)

References

ix

ListofFigures
Page No.
Figure3.1

TypicalBoilingCurve&HeatTransferProcess
inPoolBoiling

38

Figure3.2

FlowBoilinginaUniformlyHeatedCircularTube

40

Figure3.3

Differentflowboilingregimes

44

Figure5.1

Fluidflowthrougharectangularmicrochannel

55

Figure5.2

SpecificationofzonetypeinANSYSWorkbench

56

Figure5.3

Twodimensionalcomputationaldomainwith
gridtypemesh

57

61

62

Figure5.4OutletVelocityProfileatDifferentGridSizes

Figure6.1

EffectofdifferentInletTemperatureon
IncipientHeatFlux

Figure6.2

EffectofdifferentInletVelocityonIncipientHeatFlux

63

Figure6.3

VolumeFractionofVaporattheHeatedWallAlongthe
FlowDirectionatDifferentReynoldsNumber

64

StaticTemperatureattheHeatedWallAlongtheFlow
DirectionatDifferentReynoldsNumber

65

SurfaceHeatTransferCoefficientattheHeatedWall
AlongtheFlowDirectionatDifferentReynoldsNumber

66

Figure6.4

Figure6.5

ListofTables
PageNo.
Table5.1

Propertiesofliquidwateratdifferenttemperatures

57

Table5.2

Propertiesofwatervaporatdifferenttemperatures

58

Table5.3

UnderRelaxationFactors

60

Table5.4

ErrorPercentageofMaximumVelocityValueattheCenterofthe

PipeforDifferentGridSizes

xi

61

Nomenclature
2-D

Two Dimensional

--

Bo

Boiling number

--

Bn

Bond number

--

Co

Convection number

--

Ca

Capillary number

--

CFD

Computational Fluid Dynamics

--

CHF

Critical Heat Flux

W/m2

Dh

Hydraulic Diameter

Eo

Etvs number

--

External Body Force

Heat Transfer Coefficient

W/(m2.k)

Ja

Jakob number

--

K1

Non-dimensional number

--

K2

Non-dimensional number

--

ONB

Onset of Nucleate Boiling

--

q//

Heat Flux

W/m2
xii

Re

Reynolds number

--

Temperature

Tsat

Saturation Temperature of Fluid

Twall

Wall Temperature

Tsup

Wall Superheat

VOF

Volume of Fluid method

--

We

Weber number

--

Xm

Martinelli Parameter

--

GreekSymbols

Coefficient of viscosity

Pa-s

Surface Tension

N/m

Stress Tensor

Pa

Density of fluid

kg/m3

Velocity

m/s

Pressure

Pa

xiii

CHAPTER1
INTRODUCTION

INTRODUCTION

1. INTRODUCTION
With the advent of technology the heat flux generated by various devices are
increasing exponentially. So cooling these devices have become very essential and a
matter of serious consideration. Boiling and two-phase flow in microchannels has
attracted much interest in recent years because of its promising features towards very
high heat flux removal. Utilizing the latent heat of the coolant, two-phase
microchannel heat sinks can dissipate much higher heat fluxes while requiring smaller
rates of coolant flow than in the single-phase counterpart. Better temperature
uniformity across the heat sink can also be achieved. But the complex nature of
convective flow boiling in microchannel heat sinks is still far away from being
completely understood.
1.1. MICROCHANNELANDITSUSE
Tuckerman and Pease [1] first made use of miniaturization for the purposes of heat
removal, within the scope of a Ph.D. study in 1981. Their publication titled High
Performance Heat Sinking for VLSI is believed to be the first study on microchannel
heat transfer. Before proceeding with microchannel flow and heat transfer, it is
appropriate to introduce a definition for the term microchannel. The scope of the
term is among the topics of debate between researchers in the field.
Mehendale et al. [54] used the following classification based on manufacturing
techniques required to obtain various ranges of channel dimensions, D, being the
smallest channel dimension:
1 m D 100 m

: Microchannels

100 m D 1 mm

: Minichannels

INTRODUCTION

1 mm D 6 mm

: Compact Passages

6 mm D

: Conventional Passages

Kandlikar and Grande [56] adopted a different classification based on the rarefaction
effect of gases in various ranges of channel dimensions, D being the smallest
channel dimension:
1m D 10m

: Transitional Microchannels

10m D 200 m

: Microchannels

200 m D 3 mm

: Minichannels

3 mm D

: Conventional Passages

A simpler classification was proposed by Obot (2003) based on the hydraulic

diameter rather than the smallest channel dimension. Obot classified channels of
hydraulic diameter under 1mm (Dh 1 mm) as microchannels, which was also
adopted by many other researchers.
The classification of microchannel proposed by Obot is considered to be more
appropriate for the purpose of this thesis.
Microchannel heat sinks provide an innovative cooling technology for the removal of
a large amount of heat through a small area. The heat sink is usually made from a high
thermal conductivity solid such as silicon or copper. The micro-channels are
fabricated into its surface by either precision machining or micro-fabrication
technology. A Microchannel heat sink typically contains a large number of parallel
micro channels. Coolant is forced to pass through these channels to carry away heat

INTRODUCTION

from a hot surface. Microchannel heat sinks provide very high surface area to volume
ratio, large convective heat transfer coefficient, small mass and volume, and small
coolant inventory. These aspects of the heat sinks are very suitable for cooling devices
such as high performance microprocessors, laser diode arrays, radars, and highenergy-laser mirrors. Micro channel heat exchangers could be easier to repair than
their conventional counterparts.
1.2. APPLICATIONOFCOMPUTATIONALFLUIDDYNAMICS(CFD)
For engineering purposes such as boiling heat transfer analysis in microchannels
Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) is widely used. It is a computer-based
numerical tool used to study the fluid flow, heat transfer behavior and other
characteristics associated with a fluid flow analysis. A set of mathematical model
equations are first developed following conservation laws. These equations are then
solved using a computer programmer in order to obtain the flow variables throughout
the computational domain. Examples of CFD applications in the chemical process
industry include drying, combustion, separation, heat exchange, mass transfer,
pipeline flow, reaction, mixing, multiphase systems and material processing.
Validation of CFD models is often required to assess the accuracy of the
computational model. Validation is achieved by comparing CFD results with
available experimental, theoretical, or analytical data. Validated models become
established as reliable, while those which fail the validation test need to be modified
and revalidated.

INTRODUCTION

1.3. OBJECTIVESOFTHEPRESENTWORK
As is evident from the diversity of application areas, the study of flow and heat
transfer in microchannels is very important for the technology of today and the near
future, as developments are following the trend of miniaturization in all fields.
Literature review shows that most experimental & analytical works were carried out
for refrigerant flow boiling. Water flow boiling, especially in microchannel heat sinks,
received less investigation. Also the VOF method of has hardly been used in
microchannel fluid flow and heat transfer simulations. This work is a humble attempt
to investigate some of the microchannel fluid flow and heat transfer characteristics
(with water as the working fluid) using the VOF method.
The present work contributes to the study of the following aspects:
I.

Simulation of Flow Boiling Heat Transfer in a Single Horizontal

Microchannel using commercial flow solver (ANSYS Fluent 13.0).

II.

Validation of the CFD model by comparing the present simulated results

with the available literature [22].

III.

The effects of various Reynolds no. on volume fraction of vapor, static

temperature along the wall and heat transfer coefficient at the heated
wall is evaluated.

IV.

The Incipient Heat Flux is investigated as a function of fluid inlet velocity

and fluid inlet temperature.

1.4. OUTLINEOFTHEREPORT
I.

Chapter 1 represents introduction & objective of the project work

including definition & applications of microchannel and the role of
Computational Fluid Dynamics & its applications.

INTRODUCTION

II.

Chapter 2 is devoted on the extensive literature survey on experimental &

numerical study of flow boiling heat transfer in microchannel.

III.

Chapter 3 deals with theoretical background which includes fundamentals

of boiling, two phase flow patterns and non-dimensional numbers
associated with boiling heat transfer.

IV.

Chapter 4 represents computational fluid dynamics (CFD) model equation

of single phase and two phase flow through microchannel. The model
equation includes the continuity equation, momentum equation and energy
equation.

V.

Chapter 5 consists of the solution methodology used during the

simulation of flow boiling heat transfer in a microchannel.

VI.

Chapter 6 corresponds to validation of the numerical model, results and

discussion.

VII.

Chapter 7 deals with overall conclusion and future scope of work.

CHAPTER2
LITERATUREREVIEW

LITERATUREREVIEW

2. LITERATUREREVIEW
2.1. EXPERIMENTAL STUDY OF FLUID FLOW AND HEAT TRANSFER IN
MICROCHANNELS
Tuckerman and Pease [1] first introduced the concept of microchannel heat sink.
They demonstrated that the laminar flow in a rectangular microchannel has higher
heat extraction capabilities than turbulent flow in conventional size tubes. This
finding opened up a new research field and it has been followed by many more
studies by numerous researchers.
In their experiments with water in rectangular channels (50-56 m height
range and 287-320 m width range) they said that the flow rate obeyed the
Poiseuilles equation and that the thermal resistance was independent of power level.
So this is in good agreement with conventional macro scale theory.
Lazarek & Black [2] investigated the heat transfer coefficient, pressure drop and
critical heat flux of saturated R-113 boiling in a single vertical tube of 3.11 mm
diameter. They concluded that heat transfer coefficient in the saturated boiling region
is independent of the vapor quality.
Cornwell and Kew [3] tested R-113 in parallel rectangular channels (75 nos. channel
of size 1.2 mm X 0.9 mm and 36 nos. channel of size 3.25 mm X 1.1 mm) and
identified 3 flow patterns. These are isolated bubble, confined bubble and annular
slug. They concluded that heat transfer coefficient is dependent on the flow pattern.
Lower values of heat flux have significant effect in confined bubble region and in the
annular slug region convection heat transfer dominates.

LITERATUREREVIEW

Bowers and Mudawar [4] compared between minichannels & microchannels. Their
channel diameter was 2.54 and 0.51 mm and used R-113 as the working fluid in the
input heat flux range of 1000-2000 kW/m2. They find that minichannels are preferable
over microchannels unless liquid inventory or weight constraints are severe.
Tran, Wambsganass and France [5] used circular & rectangular microchannel
constructed of stainless steel. The input heat flux was given via d.c. supply. The heat
transfer coefficient was found to be strongly dependent on the heat flux. Except at the
lowest heat & mass fluxes, both nucleate boiling and convective boiling components
were present.
Kew and Cornwell [6] proposed a non-dimensional parameter named the
Confinement number in their experimental analysis. They said that two-phase flow
exhibits different flow and heat transfer characteristics when the confinement number
is greater than 0.5. Confinement of a growing bubble is represented by the restriction
of channel size on bubble growth, such that the bubble length is greater than the
channel diameter. This dimensionless number depends on the diameter as well as
surface tension and density of the liquid and vapor.
Bonjour and Lallemand [7] observed flow patterns of R-113 boiling in a narrow
space between two vertical surfaces. The flow patterns were nucleate boiling with
isolated bubbles, nucleate boiling with coalesced bubbles and partial dryout. They
noted that the Bond number (Bn) effectively identifies the transition of flow patterns
from conventional diameter tubes to minichannels. Also mentioned that for smaller
diameter channels, the gravitational forces become less important and Bond number is
not useful in modeling the flow characteristics.

LITERATUREREVIEW

Peng, Hu and Wang [8] pointed out that nucleation in small channels requires larger
superheats. Bubble generation and growth was said to require a minimum amount of
space, the evaporating space. If missing, what they called fictitious boiling would be
induced before nucleation starts. Later other researchers proposed that the results were
erroneous as no high speed camera/microscope was used.
Lakshminarasimhan, Hollingsworth and Witte [9] performed experiments to
investigate nucleate flow boiling and incipience in a vertical flow channel, 20 mm
wide and 357 mm long. One wall was heated uniformly and others approximately
kept adiabatic. Three channel spacings, 2, 1 and 0.5 mm, were investigated. R-11
was the liquid used for the experiments. Liquid crystal thermograph was used to
measure distributions of surface temperature from which the heat transfer coefficients
on the heated surface were calculated. Kandikars correlation provided the best fit for
fully developed saturated nucleate boiling in the narrow channels used in these
studies.
Hapke, Boye and Schmidt [10] studied the ONB in a vertical evaporator pipe with
an inner diameter of 1.5 mm using thermographic measurements. They found the
superheat necessary to initiate boiling was essentially higher than that of larger tubes
for the same values of heat and mass flux. Larger heat fluxes lead to an increase in the
wall superheat at the ONB.
Serisawa, Feng and Kawara [11] visualized gasliquid two-phase flow patterns with
a microscope for airwater flow in circular tubes of 20, 25 and 100 m internal
diameter and for steamwater flow in a 50 m internal diameter circular tube.
More than several different flow patterns were observed, namely, dispersed
bubbly flow, gas slug flow, liquid ring flow, liquid lump flow, skewed barbecue

LITERATUREREVIEW

shaped flow, annular flow, frothy or wispy annular flow, rivulet flow and liquid
droplets flow.
The effect of surface contamination and the wet ability between the tube wall
and the fluids was studied experimentally. The cross-sectional average void fraction
was also calculated from photographs, showing a good agreement with the Armand
correlation for airwater flow in larger tubes.
Ghiaasiaan, and Chedester [12] developed a model for the calculation of the boiling
incipience heat flux in water-cooled microtubes. The method is based on the
hypothesis that in microchannels the thermo capillary force, which tends to suppress
the micro bubbles have a tendency to form on the wall cavities, plays an important
role.
Kandlikar and Steinke [13] proposed a modification of their microchannel flow
boiling correlation to be used for large-diameter tubes. They suggested the modified
correlation may be used for flow boiling in minichannels by using the laminar singlephase correlation for the heat transfer coefficient for all liquid flow. The trends in heat
transfer coefficient versus quality were also compared in the laminar region.
It was found that the flow with Re < 1600 may be treated as fully developed
laminar flow where single phase correlation is used to find out h which is the single
phase heat transfer coefficient. The flow may be considered in the transition region
for 1600 < Re < 3000. It was suggested that an appropriate interpolation scheme
needs to be developed in the region of 1600 < Re < 3000.
Qu and Mudawar [14] conducted saturated flow boiling experiments on a 21
parallel, rectangular (cross section-- 231 m X 713 m) microchannel heat sink,

LITERATUREREVIEW

etched onto a silicon chip. The heater was adhered to the back face. They found that
heat transfer coefficient decreases with increasing equilibrium quality. Droplet
entrainment was seen at the onset of annular flow regime. Boiling mechanism was
found to be forced convection.
Qu and Mudawar [15] studied the critical heat flux in a water-cooled microchannel
heat sink consisting of 21 parallel (cross-section-- 215 m X 821 m) microchannels.
They observed that CHF was independent on the inlet temperature but it increased
with increasing the mass flux. They also noticed that, as CHF was approached, flow
instabilities induced backflow into the heat sinks upstream plenum.
Steinke and Kandlikar [16] reported the local heat transfer coefficients as a function
of heat flux, mass flux, and quality of liquid water / water vapor in parallel
microchannels. The microchannels were etched in silicon and were heated with a
copper heater deposited on the back surface. The heat transfer coefficient was found
to decrease dramatically along the length as quality increased. Considering that the
fluid is water at atmospheric pressure, the fall in heat transfer coefficient with
increasing quality indicated a major departure from the flow boiling characteristics in
conventional channels
The findings of Kandlikar and Balasubramanian [17] are as follows:
9 Flow boiling consists of nucleate boiling and convective boiling.
Nucleate boiling contribution decreases with quality. Convective
boiling becomes dominant as quality increases.
9 Heat transfer coefficient trends depend on the boiling number and the
liquid to vapor density ratio.

10

LITERATUREREVIEW

9 Correlation for flow boiling in minichannels was extended for flow

boiling in microchannels using the nucleate boiling as the dominant
part of the original correlations.
Kandlikar, Willistein and Borrelli [18] experimentally investigated the effect of
Pressure Drop Elements and Fabricated Nucleation Sites for Stabilizing Flow Boiling
in Minichannels and Microchannels.
Pressure restrictor forced an expanding vapor bubble (after nucleation) to flow
downstream and not enter the inlet manifold. Fabricated nucleation sites stimulated
boiling earlier in the microchannels, preventing the water from attaining a higher
superheat before nucleation occurs in the corners or edges of the microchannel. Use of
pressure drop elements in conjunction with fabricated nucleation sites is
recommended based on this study.
Further research was proposed to study the effect of different pressure drop
elements and different size and distribution of the nucleating cavities on stability of
the flow boiling phenomenon.
Hetsroni, Mosyak, Pogrebnyak and Segal [19] observed the flow pattern in their
experimental work titled Explosive Boiling of Water in Parallel Micro-Channels.
The successive images obtained, using high speed video visualization, showed that
the flow patterns were periodic. The flow visualization showed that the behavior of
long vapor bubbles, occurring in a micro-channel at low Reynolds numbers, was not
similar to annular flow with interposed intermitted slugs of liquid between two long
vapor trains. This process may be regarded as explosive boiling with periodic wetting
and dryout. In the presence of two-phase liquidvapor flow in the micro-channel,

11

LITERATUREREVIEW

there are pressure drop oscillations, which increase with increasing vapor quality.
This study shows strong dependence of the heat transfer coefficient on the vapor
quality.
Kosar, A., Kuo, C.J., and Peles [20] performed the experiment of boiling heat
transfer in rectangular microchannels with reentrant cavities. They showed that the
deviations between existing data and available correlations are relatively large and
inconsistent. Hence making it is difficult to quantitatively conclude the capabilities of
reentrant cavities to enhance heat transfer.
Depending on the mass velocity and heat flux, both nucleate and convective
dominant boiling mechanisms were detected. These were quantified in terms of the
Reynolds and the Boiling number. For low Re and Bo, Nucleate boiling is dominant.
Two correlations were developed to represent the experimental data for both
nucleate boiling and convective boiling dominant regions. CHF data has been
compared with conventional as well as minichannel correlations.
Kandlikar, Kuan, Willistein and Borrelli [21] studied the effect of pressure drop
elements and artificial nucleation sites on the instability observed during flow boiling
in microchannels. Their individual as well as combined effects were studied
experimentally using high speed video imaging and pressure drop measurements.
It was found that introduction of pressure drop elements alone, partially reduced
the instabilities. Introduction of nucleation sites alone increased the instabilities. Use
of pressure drop elements in conjunction with fabricated nucleation sites is
recommended based on this study.

12

LITERATUREREVIEW

Liu, Lee and Garimella [22] experimentally investigated the onset of nucleate
boiling under various flow conditions. The microchannels considered were 275 m
wide by 636 m deep. They also developed an analytical model to predict the
incipient heat flux as well as the bubble size at the onset of boiling.
They observed that when the incipient heat flux is reached in the experiments,
a single bubble or a few bubbles could be observed simultaneously using the highspeed imaging system either close to the exit, or even further upstream, in several
microchannels. These bubbles were usually observed to form near but not exactly at
the edges (corners) on the channel bottom surface. Analyzing their experimental data
it is found that the incipient heat flux increases with increased fluid inlet velocity and
decreases with increased inlet temperature.
Kandlikar, S. G., and Balasubramanian [23] studied the influence of gravitational
forces on flow boiling in minichannels. The vertical down flow case exhibited a
higher degree of instability, which resulted in a slightly lower heat transfer
coefficient. In the horizontal and vertical flows, the flow was similar, and the heat
transfer coefficients were identical. This illustrates the insensitivity of the boiling
process to the gravitational orientation in narrow channels. This feature makes the
minichannels and microchannels very attractive for microgravity applications.
Cortina-Daz, Boye, Hapke, Schmidt, Staate and Zhekov [24] found different
trends of the heat transfer coefficient depending on the nature of the working fluid.
For flow boiling of pure hydrocarbons (n-hexane, n-heptane and n-octane) in a
capillary tube of 1.5 mm in diameter, the heat transfer coefficient was seen to increase
with increasing heat flux. But monotonically decrease with increasing vapor quality.

13

LITERATUREREVIEW

For water, the heat transfer coefficient increased with increasing vapor quality, and
the same results were observed for an n-hexane/n-octane mixture.
Kandlikar [25] concluded that heat transfer during flow boiling in microchannels is
dictated by the intermittent passage of liquid slugs and expanding bubbles. The heat
transfer mechanism due to periodic movement of the liquid-vapor interface over the
heated surface is similar to the transient conduction mechanism around a nucleating
bubble in pool boiling.
Chen, and Garimella [26] studied the effect of dissolved air on subcooled flow
boiling. They observed the followings:
9 The dissolved air resulted in a significant reduction in wall temperature at
which bubbles were first observed in the microchannels. This suggested that
the bubbles observed initially in the non-degassed liquid were most likely air
bubbles.
9 They performed degassing of the working fluid and found that it had a strong
impact on both the measured heat transfer and pressure drop. Larger pressure
drops were measured for boiling with the non-degassed liquid.
9 For application to electronics cooling, they recommended that liquids be fully
degassed to ensure greater predictability and control of wall temperature and
to ensure lower pressure drops and flow instabilities.
Sobierska, Kulenovic, Mertz and Groll [27] did experiments on flow boiling of
water in a vertical microchannel.
They found the followings:

14

LITERATUREREVIEW

9 The heat transfer coefficient is the highest one in the bubbly flow regime for
all presented mass fluxes.
9 With increasing vapor quality the convection mechanism through the liquid
layer starts to play a significant role.
9 For two-phase flow the heat transfer decreases with increase in vapor quality
(the transition from bubbly to annular flow). As the heat flux is increased, the
heat transfer coefficient increases
Schneider, Kosar, Kuo, Mishra, Cole and Scraringe [28] showed that significant
heat transfer increment (approximately 67%) was obtained under super cavitating
flow conditions in comparison to non-cavitating flow conditions for the same mass
velocity. They found the followings:
9 No further heat transfer enhancement was obtained with the reduction of the
cavitation index once super-cavitating flow conditions were initiated.
9 A deviation of 1% - 1.5% in the pressure drop between single-phase flow and
super-cavitating flow conditions were registered.
9 There was a similarity between the flow patterns in the multipassage
microchannel device used in this study and previously reported patterns in a
single micropassage device under adiabatic conditions. The flow patterns were
dependent on the cavitation number and the longitudinal location in the
channel.
Kuo, Kos, Peles, Virost, Mishra and Jensen [29] experimentally found the
followings:

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9 The experiments on two microchannel devices with identical global

geometrical configurations (i.e., one having reentrant cavities and one with
plain smooth walls) is a better way to evaluate the inherent capabilities in
reentrant cavities in enhancing heat transfer in microchannels.
9 In microchannels and macrochannels, active nucleation site density, bubble
departure diameter & its frequency and flow patterns during forced flow with
enhanced reentrant cavities are similar.
9 The active nucleation site density varies with the heat flux and mass velocity
and which shifts towards the inlet region when increased.
9 The wall superheat temperatures do not seem to strongly affect the nucleation
site density unlike large-scale channels.
9 There is a major difference between the activation mechanisms of bubble
nucleation sites in microchannels and macrochannels.

And possibly it is

related to the increasing bubble-departure-diameter to channel-hydraulicdiameter ratio in microchannels.

Wojtan L., Revellin R. Thome [30] investigated critical heat flux during saturated
flow boiling of R-134a and R-245fa in horizontal 0.5 and 0.8 mm microchannels.
They found that for fixed inlet subcooling, CHF increased with increasing the mass
flux and was higher for the 0.8 mm than for the 0.5 mm diameter tube. The effect of
the inlet subcooling was found insignificant for the range of experimental conditions.

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Nucleation characteristics during flow boiling in microchannels were studied by

Kandilkar [31]. Also expressions for local wall superheat and liquid subcooling at
the nucleation location were proposed.
The unique flow characteristics in microchannels and minichannels were
further analyzed and their influence on flow boiling stability was investigated
experimentally using visual images generated with a high-speed camera. Stabilizing
the flow by introducing a pressure drop element and artificial nucleation sites was
discussed clearly.
Huh and Kim [32] experimentally studied flow boiling in an asymmetrically heated
rectangular microchannel. They found that the saturated flow boiling is governed by
nucleate boiling and the forced convection boiling. The heat transfer mechanism of
thin liquid film evaporation between the vapor core and the heated surface might
contribute to the boiling heat transfer. High mass flux and high heat flux resulted in
pressure drop oscillations.
Wang, Cheng and Wu [33] performed simultaneous visualization and measurements
of temperature, pressure and mass flux variations during their investigation of flow
boiling instabilities of water in microchannels at various heat fluxes and mass fluxes.
A flow boiling map, in terms of heat flux vs. mass flux, showing stable flow
boiling regime and unstable flow boiling regime were presented. The data was for
both parallel microchannels as well as for a single microchannel.
Comparison of results of flow boiling in parallel microchannels and in a single
microchannel showed that flow interaction effects from neighboring channels at the
headers are significant.

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Chang and Pan [34] experimentally explored the two-phase flow instability in a
microchannel heat sink with 15 parallel microchannels. The hydraulic diameter for
each channel was 86.3 m.
Flow boiling in their study showed significantly different two-phase flow
patterns under stable or unstable conditions. For unstable cases forward or reversed
slug or annular flows appeared alternatively in every channel.
The study also showed that if the deviation between the maximum instant pressure
drop and the minimum instant pressure drop is greater than about 6 kPa, two phase
flow instability with reversed flow to the inlet chamber appears.
Muwanga, Hassan and Mcdonald [35] studied detailed flow characteristic of flow
boiling instabilities in two different silicon microchannel heat sinks. One is a straight
standard microchannel configuration and the second contains cross-links between the
channels. Their findings are as follows:
9 Both configurations showed a decreasing frequency of oscillation with
increasing heat flux.
9 Flow oscillations for inlet temperature, outlet temperature, and inlet pressure
are at the same frequency.
9 At two different inlet temperatures and a range of flow rates for the straight
standard heat sink, the instability data was presented and the data showed that
with increasing flow rate, the frequency of oscillations increased, whereas
with decreasing inlet temperature, the oscillation frequency increased.
9 The frequency and amplitude characteristics of these oscillations were
correlated with two different inlet temperatures, with the boiling number, with

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the inlet subcooling temperature and with the weber number. The oscillations
had relatively large amplitudes, which could have damaging effects on the
electronic chip being cooled.
Flow boiling of water in microchannels is experimentally investigated by Liu and
Garimella [36]. The fluid inlet temperatures, microchannel wall temperatures and the
pressure drop across the microchannel were measured. The boiling heat transfer
coefficients for subcooled and saturated boiling regimes were determined. Heat
transfer correlations in the literature were assessed critically for applicability to
microchannels. A new correlation suitable for the saturated boiling regime is
developed.
It was found that the fluid inlet conditions, i.e., degree of subcooling and velocity,
affect the onset of nucleate boiling, but have little impact on the boiling curve once
the onset nucleate boiling has occurred.
Experiments on CHF of R-123 conducted in a microchannel heat sink by Kosar and
Peles [37]. They showed that dryout is the leading CHF mechanism for boiling of R123. They found the followings:
9 Depending on the heat flux, location and mass velocity different flow regimes
like bubbly, slug, intermittent annular, and annular are identified.
9 CHF tends to reduce with reduction in surface tension and latent heat of
vaporization. CHF increases with mass velocity and decreases with exit vapor
quality.
9 CHF increases as pressure is increased to a certain value, beyond which CHF
declines.

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9 Boiling number, the dimensionless pressure ratio, and the exit mass quality
can successfully represent the experimental data.
Pressure Drop, Boiling Heat Transfer and Flow Patterns during Flow Boiling in a
Single Microchannel were experimentally investigated by Huh and Kim [38]. A
horizontal rectangular microchannel with hydraulic diameter of 100 m and length of
40 mm was used for the experiments. Flow patterns were obtained from real-time
flow visualizations made during the flow boiling experiments. The effects of mass
flux and vapor quality on the local flow boiling heat transfer coefficient and twophase frictional pressure gradient were studied. The evaluated experimental data were
compared with existing correlations. Most of the existing correlations did not provide
reliable heat transfer coefficient predictions for different vapor quality values. Also
prediction of the two-phase frictional pressure gradient deviated except under some
limited conditions.
Wang, Cheng and Bergles [39] studied the effects of inlet/outlet configurations on
flow boiling instability in parallel microchannels. They found that for microchannels
where flow entering to the microchannels is restricted, steady flow boiling with no
oscillations of temperature and pressure can be achieved. In these microchannels, no
reversed flow of vapor bubbles was observed under the experimental conditions. This
configuration is recommended for high-heat-flux microchannel applications to avoid
large temperature fluctuations and early burnout.
In their experimental study Kuan and Kandilkar [40] observed that the pressure
drop elements (PDE) at the inlet of each microchannel stabilizes the flow boiling
process and avoid the backflow phenomena. The PDE decreases the CHF in case of
R123 and had no effect on the CHF value of water. Also their theoretical analysis of

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flow boiling phenomena revealed that the ratio of evaporation momentum to surface
tension forces is an important parameter.
Wang and Cheng [41] experimentally studied flow boiling instability in a single
microchannel. They found the followings:
9 The exit vapor quality uniquely determined the occurrence of stable and
unstable flow boiling regime. The stable and unstable regimes depend on inlet
temperature and ratio of heat flux to mass flux.
9 Stable boiling regime was the single-phase liquid flow with bubbly flow and
elongated bubbly/slug flow. Bubbly flow, elongated bubbly/slug flow, semiannular flow and annular/mist flow were observed during unstable flow.
9 The periods of temperature and pressure-drop oscillations in unstable flow
boiling region increased as the mass flux was decreased.
Lee and Pan [42] proposed a convective boiling-type correlation for the heat transfer
coefficient as a function of the Reynolds number, boiling number, Weber number and
local vapor quality in terms of LockhartMartinelli parameter. They also studied the
effect of diverging cross-sectional channel on two-phase flow in a single shallow
microchannel.
They made following remarks:
9 Due to the rapid evaporation of a thin liquid film between bubble and channel
walls, the bubbles in slug flow in the shallow microchannel grow
exponentially. Moreover, the bubble growth rate in the diverging
microchannel is larger than that in the one with a uniform cross section.

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9 The heat flux increases slowly with the flow rate for single-phase flow and the
diverging microchannel shows a significantly higher heat transfer rate at the
same rate.
9 After boiling begins, heat flux and the heat transfer coefficient are elevated
sharply but the mass flow rate show insignificant effect.
9 The diverging microchannel presents better performance in boiling heat
transfer than that of the uniform cross-section microchannel with the same
mean hydraulic diameter and under similar operating conditions due to much
more stable two-phase flow.
9 The single-phase pressure drop of the diverging microchannel is higher than
that for that with a uniform cross section and the difference decreases with
increasing the mass flow rate. Contrarily, the two-phase pressure drop after
boiling begins is approximately the same at the same heat flux for both types
of microchannel.
Singh, Kulkarni, Duttagupta, Puranik and Agrawal [43] studied the impact of
aspect ratio on the pressure drop in rectangular microchannels.
They said that there are two kinds of pressure drop inside the channel called
the frictional pressure drop and acceleration pressure drop. And these oppose each
other for different aspect ratio which results in a minimum pressure drop. The above
results were demonstrated theoretically as well as through experiments. The result
obtained have practical significance in that for a given hydraulic diameter, an aspect
ratio range close to 1.56 may be employed to minimize the pressure drop penalty.

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The paper of Wang and Cheng [44] presents a study of Flow Boiling in a single
Microchannel. They identified three flow regimes which were Isolated Bubble,
Confined Bubble and Annular Slug.
The heat transfer coefficient was a strong function of heat flux and system
pressure, while effects of mass flux and vapor quality are small. Heat flux was mainly
through nucleate boiling.
At low Reynolds number the flow trends in boiling heat transfer coefficient
were similar to that observed in nucleate boiling.
The effect of mass flux and vapor quality on the local flow boiling heat
transfer coefficient and two phase frictional pressure gradient were studied, and the
prediction capability of conventional macro-channel correlations was assessed.
The heat transfer coefficient was found to be independent of mass flux and
vapor quality but the flow resembled annular flow. This finding according to them
was a disagreement with available literature.
Macro-channel correlations cannot be used to predict the boiling heat transfer
coefficient in micro-channel applications. However at vapor quality of 0.1 correlation
proposed by Liu and Winterton predicted the experimental data with reasonable
accuracy.
Lee and Garimella [45] conducted experiments to find out the characteristics of
saturated flow boiling heat transfer and pressure drop in silicon microchannel arrays.
The presented their results in terms of temperatures and pressure drop as a function of
imposed heat flux. The microchannels considered for their experimental run, range in

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width, from 102 m to 997 m, with the channel depth being nominally 400 m in
each case. Key findings from this work are given below:
9 The pressure drop across the microchannels increases rapidly with heat flux
when the incipience heat flux (for the onset of nucleate boiling) is exceeded.
9 At low to medium heat fluxes, the local heat coefficient increases almost
linearly with heat flux. At higher heat fluxes, the saturated heat transfer
coefficient becomes largely insensitive to heat flux. This may indicate a
change in the dominant boiling mechanism, from nucleate boiling to
convective boiling.
9 A critical review of correlations in the literature suggests that existing
correlations in the literature do not match the experimental results obtained for
two-phase pressure drop and heat transfer associated with flow boiling in
microchannels.
Lu and Pan [46] experimentally explored the possibilities of stabilizing of flow
boiling in ten parallel microchannel heat sinks with a diverging cross-section design.
Flow visualization showed that heat flux and mass flux significantly affect the
stability of flow boiling in the parallel microchannels. The extent of pressure drop
oscillations may be regarded as an index for the onset of flow boiling instability.
Their study confirmed that, in terms of stability performance, the flow boiling
in the parallel microchannel heat sinks with a diverging cross-section design is
superior to a uniform cross-section design.

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Harirchian and Garimella [47] experimentally studied the effects of channel

dimension, heat flux, and mass flux on flow boiling regimes in microchannels. They
found the followings:
9 As channel width increases, bubbly flow replaces slug flow and discontinuous
churn/wispy-annular flow replaces irregular churn/annular flow.
9 As mass flux increases, the bubbles become smaller and more elongated in the
bubbly region, and the liquid layer thickness in the wispy-annular and annular
regimes decreases.
9 The transition between specific flow patterns occurs at a higher heat flux for
higher mass fluxes.
Bertsch, S.S., Groll, E. A., and Garimella [48] experimentally studied the effects of
heat flux, mass flux, vapor quality, and saturation temperature on flow boiling heat
transfer in microchannels. They used R-245fa and R-134a as the working fluid and
found the followings:
9 The heat transfer coefficient for R-245fa in comparison with R-134a in flow
boiling is lower as a result of its higher molecular mass and surface tension.
9 The onset of nucleate boiling (ONB) is shifted towards higher heat fluxes with
increasing mass flux.
9 The flow boiling heat transfer coefficient strongly increases with increasing
heat flux and seems to be dominated by nucleate boiling. It also shows a
strong dependence on thermodynamic vapor quality.

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Zhao and Bansal [49] used CO2lubricant mixtures as the working fluid in their
experimental study of flow boiling heat transfer. Their findings are as follows:
9 Addition of lubricant in CO2 sharply decreases the flow boiling heat transfer
coefficient, even with very low oil concentrations.
9 At high oil concentrations, the flow boiling heat transfer coefficient is almost
independent of vapor quality.
9 The deterioration of the flow boiling heat transfer due to lubricant increases
with increasing saturation temperature.

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2.2. THEORITICAL,NUMERICALANDOTHERSTUDIESRELATEDTOFLUIDFLOW
ANDHEATTRANSFERINMICROHANNELS
Palm [55] in his paper titled Heat Transfer in Microchannel published in 2001,
reviewed the available literature on heat transfer and pressure drop for one and two
phase flow. He emphasized on reports presented during the last few years.
The flow boiling heat transfer is often assumed to be the result of two different
mechanisms, nucleate boiling and convective boiling. Nucleate boiling is dominant at
high heat flux and low vapor quality, while convective boiling is important at high
mass flux and high vapor quality, where nucleate boiling is suppressed. Fluids with
low molar mass are expected to give the highest heat transfer coefficients for twophase cooling systems.
Kandlikar [56] studied the fundamental issues related to the presence of nucleate
boiling and characteristics of flow boiling in microchannels and minichannels in
comparison to that in the conventional channel sizes (3 mm and above). Also, the
effect of heat exchanger configuration (single-channel and multichannel) on the heat
transfer and pressure drop performance was reviewed.
They found that three flow patterns are commonly encountered during flow
boiling in minichannels i.e. isolated bubble, confined bubble or plug/slug, and
annular. It was also found that the effect of surface tension is quite significant in flow
boiling in microchannel causing the liquid to form small uniformly spaced slugs that
fill the tube, sometimes forming liquid rings. The heat transfer rate in multichannel
evaporators was found to be different from that in single-channel evaporators under
the same set of operating conditions.

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Kandilkar [58] proposed two new dimensionless groups in his study titled Heat
Transfer Mechanisms During Flow Boiling in Microchannels. The dimensionless
numbers are useful at arriving at basic relationships among system variables that are
valid for different fluids under different operating conditions. Heat flux at the wall
causes evaporation of the working fluid and the resulting momentum change
introduces a force on a liquid interface. Other forces are inertia of flow and surface
tension at contact line. Gravity force is assumed to be negligible. Viscous forces are
not considered here but their effect is important in determining the stability of micro
channels.
The conclusions derived from this study are as follows:
9 Wall superheat increases with channel diameter.
9 Heat transfer is found to be nucleate boiling (dominating)
9 Immediately after nucleation a sudden increase in heat transfer coefficient is
experienced due to release of accumulated super heat into the liquid prior to
nucleation.
Thome [59] reviewed the available literature on experiments and theory on
evaporation in microchannels.
What best defines a microchannel is not yet clear. But the threshold to
confined bubble flow is a good working definition for the upper limit. The lower limit
may be the complete suppression of nucleation and hence the threshold to
nanochannels, from a two-phase flow and heat transfer perspective. The primary flow
regimes observed are elongated bubble flow (also referred to as slug flow or confined
bubble flow) and annular flow.

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Flow boiling heat transfer coefficients have been shown experimentally to be

dependent closely on heat flux and saturation pressure. This is similar to nucleate pool
boiling heat transfer and only slightly dependent on mass velocity and vapor quality.
This has led to the conclusion that nucleate boiling controls evaporation in
microchannels.
Numerical simulation of the growth of a single vapor bubble, during flow of water
through a microchannel was performed Mukherjee and Kandilkar [60]. The
objective of the numerical simulations was to obtain flow and thermal fields around a
single vapor bubble inside a microchannel.
Behavior of liquid vapor interface and its interaction with the constraining
walls was studied.
Effect of gravity, wall superheat and Reynolds number on the bubble growth
rate was determined.
Numerical results are obtained while keeping total mass flux constant, show
that backward bubble expansion causing reverse flow occur in multiple micro
channels whereas bubble formation is not simultaneous in each channel. Reverse
flow is found to increase when contact angle decreases and wall superheat increases.
The paper of Thome [61] focuses on the advantages and drawbacks of two-phase
flow boiling heat transfer as compared to other cooling methods.
Some notable advantages are as follows:
9 Lower pressure drop and mass flow rate, hence lesser pumping power.
9 Increase of the heat transfer coefficient with heat flux

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The drawbacks include:

9 Back flow and flow instabilities
9 No reliable dimensioning tool and accurate prediction methods to determine
CHF accurately.
Complete numerical simulation performed by Kuo, Kos, Peles, Virost, Mishra and
Jensen [63] on flow boiling in microchannels by using level set method for tracking
the liquid vapor interface.
Effects of contact angle wall superheat, number of channels on the bubble
growth, reverse flow and heat transfer are investigated. Based on the numerical
simulations, the effects of contact angle, wall superheat and number of channels on
the bubble growth, reverse flow and heat transfer are investigated. During flow
boiling in two parallel microchannels, the formation and growth of a vapor bubble in
each channel effects the flow and temperature field in other.
Dhir, Hari and Li [65] numerically analyzed bubble dynamics and heat transfer
process during both the pool and flow boiling simulation. The simulations are based
on the solution of the conservation equations of mass, momentum, and energy for
both phases. Interface shape is captured through a level set function.
The results obtained from their study are written below:
9 The bubble shape changes from a sphere at the nucleation site to an ellipsoid
and finally to a cap shaped bubble at the downstream end of the inclined
surface.

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9 As the bubble slides, the thermal layer in the wake behind the bubble becomes
thicker, but the thermal layer around the bubble and just behind thins. This in
turn corresponds to an increase in heat flux.
9 The pressure on the top of the bubble is smaller than the pressure at the bubble
base. As a result of this pressure difference, the bubble lifts off normal to the
gravity vector. This pressure difference is equivalent to a lift force on the
bubble.
A complete 3D numerical simulation of single bubble dynamics on surfaces inclined
at 900, 450 and 300 to the horizontal line and subjected to forced flow parallel to the
surface is performed by Li and Dhir [66]. The continuity, momentum and energy
equations are solved with finite difference method and the level-set method which
was used to capture the liquid-vapor interface. Their findings are as follows:
9 The dynamic contact angles in upstream and downstream sides are different if
the bubble sliding velocity is small. The pressure difference across the bubble
lifts the bubble off from the surface for the vertical up-flow boiling case.
9 There may be a liquid layer underneath the bubble when the bubble sliding
velocity is large and this causes the dynamic contact angle to become small.
9 By employing the dynamic contact angle and velocity relation, the numerical
results agree reasonably well with the experimental data.
Cheng, Wang and Quan [67] reviewed the recent works in boiling of water and
condensation of steam in single and parallel microchannels. They found the
followings:

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9 The amplitude and frequency of fluctuations during unstable flow boiling has
been attributed to inlet/exit configurations and vapor quality.
9 The data obtained for flow boiling in microchannels is found to vary largely
from that of macrochannels at high vapor quality.
9 The upstream compressible volume has been identified as the source of flow
boiling instability in microchannels.
9 Stable Flow Boiling has been found to occur at low vapor quality.
9 Nucleate boiling dominates at outset of nucleation while annular two phase
flow prevails at downstream.
9 The local boiling heat transfer coefficients have been found to peak at low
vapor qualities.
9 Macrochannel correlations have been found to overestimate boiling heat
transfer coefficients in microchannels.
The parametric study of Revellin and Thome [68] showed that the best solution for a
particular application will be to find a design with the following combination of
characteristics: (i) a short channel length, (ii) a low saturation temperature, (iii) a large
mass flux, (iv) a large subcooling, and (v) a large microchannel diameter for a chosen
fluid to achieve higher value of CHF.
Zhuan and Wang [69] numerical simulated multiphase flow model to investigate the
nucleate boiling of water in a single micro channel. They had used the VOF (Volume

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of Fluid) method for the purpose of simulation. They also investigated the influences
of roughness elements on nucleation and frictional pressure drop.
They noted that there are some differences between micro and macro twophase flow. The feature of nucleate boiling in common channel is free bubble
flowing, while in micro channels it is confined bubble flowing. They showed that the
incipient heat flux affect the bubbles growth rates. Also the higher heat flux makes the
small bubbles coalescence more quickly.
Roughness elements increase the nucleation cavities on the wall. The nucleate
boiling in micro channel is intensified on roughness surface contrast to the smooth
surface. But the frictional pressure drop increases on roughness surface.
They presented that with the increase of vapor quality and volume fraction,
mass flux decreases at initial time. Also, as vapor quality rise, frictional pressure drop
also increases due to the jam of large bubbles in micro channel.
Zhuan and Wang [74] simulated bubble behavior to analyze the mechanism of
subcooled boiling in a microchannel. Bubble growth, condensation and collapse were
analyzed in subcooled boiling flow. They also discussed the function of the degree of
subcooling, lift-off diameter, different heat flux and mass flux. They had used the
VOF (Volume of Fluid) method for the purpose of simulation.
They noted that there are some differences in bubble behavior between subcooled
boiling and saturated boiling. In subcooled boiling, bubble growth and collapse are
controlled by degree of subcooling, lift-off diameter, heat flux and mass transfer. In
saturated boiling, lift-off bubbles expand and coalesce quickly and form a slug flow.
In subcooled boiling, due to the subcooled liquid, an annular flow seldom occurs in

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the wide range of mass and heat fluxes. But in saturated boiling, the slug and annular
flows usually appear in the microchannel.
At high degree of subcooling, surface tension influences the growth of subcooled
boiling to some extent. Also a high degree of subcooling delays ONB to some extent.
ONB is also influenced by microchannel size. With high aspect ratio, the nucleation
process is delayed and the bubbles begin to grow slowly.
A numerical study Mukherjee, Kandlikar and Edel [75] had been performed to
analyze the wall heat transfer mechanisms during growth of a vapor bubble inside a
microchannel. The microchannel was of 200 m square cross section and a vapor
bubble begins to grow at one of the walls, with liquid coming in through the channel
inlet. The complete Navier-Stokes equations along with continuity and energy
equations were solved using the SIMPLER method. The liquid vapor interface was
captured using the level set technique.
The observations made are as follows:
9 The wall heat transfer improved with increase in wall superheat and the bubble
growth rates.
9 The wall heat transfer remained unaffected by the changes in the incoming
liquid flow rates.
9 Insignificant effect of the liquid surface tension on bubble growth was
observed. The bubble shapes were affected by the liquid surface tension values
with lower surface tension producing longer and thinner bubbles. The effect of
surface tension on wall heat transfer found to be negligible.
9 A decrease in contact angle causes formation of a liquid layer between the
bubble downstream interface and the wall that has significant influence on

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bubble growth and wall heat transfer. The bubble with the lowest contact
angle exhibited the highest growth rate and also the highest wall heat transfer.
9 The bubble growth is found to push the liquid against the microchannel walls,
thus preventing the growth of the thermal boundary layers.

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CHAPTER3
THEORITICALBACKGROUND

THEORITICALBACKGROUND

3. THEORETICALBACKGROUND
3.1. FUNDAMENTALSOFBOILING
Boiling is defined as the process of phase changing just like evaporation, but there are
significant differences between the two. Evaporation occurs at the liquid-vapor
interface when the vapor pressure is less than the saturation pressure of the liquid at a
given temperature. Boiling on the other hand occurs at the solid-liquid interface when
a liquid is brought into contact with a surface maintained at a temperature sufficiently
higher than saturation temperature of the liquid.
Boiling process is characterized by the rapid formation of vapor bubbles at the solidliquid interface that detach from the surface when they reach a certain size and
attempt to rise to the free surface of the liquid. The boiling process in practice does
not occur under equilibrium conditions, and normally the bubbles are not in
thermodynamic equilibrium with the surrounding liquid. That is the temperature and
pressure of the vapor in a bubble is usually different than that of the liquid. The
pressure difference between the liquid and vapor is balanced by the surface tension at
the interface. The temperature difference between the vapor in a bubble and the
surrounding liquid is the driving force for heat transfer between the two phases. When
the liquid is at lower temperature than the bubble, heat is transferred from the bubble
to the liquid, causing some of the vapor inside the bubble to condense and the bubble
eventually to collapse. When the liquid is at higher temperature than the bubble, heat
is transferred from the liquid to the bubble, causing the bubble to grow and rise to the
top under the influence of buoyancy.

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If the temperature of the liquid is below the saturation temperature, the process is
called Subcooled boiling, whereas if the liquid is maintained at the saturation
temperature the process is known as saturated boiling.
The three different boiling heat transfer mechanisms are nucleate boiling, where heat
is transferred by means of vapor bubbles nucleating, growing and finally detaching
from the surface; convective boiling, where heat is conducted through the liquid and
heated liquid evaporates at the liquid-vapor interface without bubble formation; and
film boiling, where the heat is transferred by conduction and radiation through a film
of vapor that covers the heated surface and the liquid vaporizes at the vapor liquid
interface. Nucleate boiling and film boiling may occur in both pool boiling and flow
boiling, while forced convective boiling occurs only in flow boiling.
Boiling can be defined according to the geometric situation and to the mechanism
occurring. Regarding the geometry, it is possible to distinguish between pool boiling,
where the heat is transferred to a stagnant fluid; and flow boiling, where the fluid has
a velocity relative to the heating surface. A brief discussion on both these boiling
processes is as follows:
3.1.1. POOLBOILING
In pool boiling the fluid is not forced to flow by a mover such as pump. Any motion
of the fluid is by natural convection currents and the motion of the bubbles under the
influence of buoyancy. The relationship between heat flux q// and the wall superheat
(Tsup = Twall Tsat) is known as the boiling curve which is illustrated for saturated
pool boiling in Figure 3.1.

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Tsup = Twall Tsat (K)

Fig. 3.1, Typical Boiling Curve & Heat Transfer Process in Pool Boiling [64]
As the input heat flux to the surface is increased theres no bubble formation and heat
is transferred by natural convection between the hot surface and the liquid vapor
interfaces (O-A). At a certain value of wall superheat (A) bubble nucleation is
initiated on cavities present on the heater surface. This condition is called Onset of
Nucleate Boiling (ONB) and the corresponding heat flux is known as Incipient Heat
Flux. In liquids that wet the surface well, the onset of nucleation may be delayed (A/).
Because for these liquids a sudden activation of a large number of cavities, at an
increased wall superheat, causes a reduction in the surface temperature while the heat
flux remains constant (A/-.A//). After inception, the slope of the curve increases. At
first, discrete bubbles are released from randomly located active sites (A-B). At higher
heat flux the density of active sites and the frequency of bubble release increase.
Transition from isolated bubbles to fully developed nucleate boiling (B-C) occurs
when bubbles at a given site begin to merge in the vertical direction and with bubbles

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from the neighboring sites. Further increasing the heat flux, intense evaporation near
the bubble base leads to periodic dry patches on the surfaces that are re-wetted by the
surrounding liquid (C-D). This results in a reduction in the slope of the curve.
Eventually, liquid is unable to rewet the heating surface and a large area becomes
covered by a vapor blanket, causing a large temperature excursion on the heating
surface (F). The heat flux corresponding to this condition (D) is known as the critical
heat flux (CHF), and represents the upper limit of fully developed nucleate boiling or
safe operation of equipment. If the temperature at F exceeds the melting temperature
of the heating material, the heater will fail (burn out). The curve E-F represents the
stable film boiling. The heating surface is totally covered with vapor film and the
liquid does not comes in contact with the solid and the system can be made to follow
this curve by reducing the heat flux. With a reduction in heat flux in film boiling, a
condition is reached when the vapor film can no longer be sustained and collapses.
The heat flux corresponding to this condition (E) is called the minimum heat flux. The
region falling between nucleate and film boiling (D-E) is known as the transition
boiling region. Transition boiling is very unstable and essentially inaccessible with
constant heat flux boundary condition.
3.1.2. FLOWBOILING
For flow boiling process the boiling curve obtained is similar to the pool boiling. The
underlying mechanisms however, are more complex as the liquid-vapor flow
configurations change due to the addition of vapor along the flow direction.
Figure 3.2, shows a conceptual picture of forced flow boiling process with
temperature profile for a circular tube with uniform heat flux boundary condition in
which subcooled liquid enters the tube.

39

THEORITICALBACKGROUND

Fig. 3.2, Flow Boiling in a Uniformly Heated Circular Tube [53].

The first mode of heat transfer as subcooled liquid enters the tube is single-phase
convection. The heat transfer coefficient in this region is constant except for the
variations due property change with increasing liquid temperature in the flow
direction. Boiling will not occur until the wall temperature reaches a certain value
above the saturation temperature. The primary formation of bubbles is known as onset
of nucleate boiling, ONB. Subcooled flow boiling exists when the bulk liquid
temperature remains below its saturation value but the surface is hot enough for

40

THEORITICALBACKGROUND

bubbles to form. Bubbles formed at the wall will condense as they move out of the
developing saturation boundary layer, but the appearance of these bubbles will affect
the heat transfer between the wall and the fluid. Initially, only few nucleation sites are
active and a portion of the heat is transferred by single-phase convection between
patches of bubbles. As more nucleation sites are activated the contribution to heat
transfer from nucleate boiling increases while the single-phase convective
contribution diminishes. This region is termed partial nucleate boiling. When the
surface becomes fully active for nucleation, fully developed nucleate boiling, is
established. In addition, as the bulk fluid is heated the saturation boundary layer
continues to grow and eventually covers the entire channel and the saturated nucleate
boiling region is reached. Further downstream, the addition of vapor to the flow leads
to a transition in the heat transfer mechanism. The thickness of the thin liquid film in
annular flow is often such that the effective thermal conductivity is enough to prevent
the liquid from being superheated to the temperature needed to sustain nucleate
boiling. Heat is transferred from the wall by forced convection to the liquid-vapor
interface, where evaporation occurs. The suppression of nucleate boiling indicates the
beginning of the convective boiling region. Ultimately, at some critical vapor quality
complete evaporation of the liquid film will occur. This transition is known as dryout
and is accompanied by a rise in the wall temperature. The area between the dryout
point and the transition to dry saturated vapor is commonly referred to as the liquid
deficient region.
The critical heat flux (CHF) condition in flow boiling is a major research area. It is
characterized by a sharp reduction of the local heat transfer coefficient as a result of
the replacement of liquid by vapor adjacent to the heat transfer surface [53]. The CHF
condition in low boiling can be of different nature [73]:

41

THEORITICALBACKGROUND

At low vapor quality, it has strong similarities to pool boiling critical heat flux,
both in mechanism and in behavior. It is associated with subcooled boiling or
saturated boiling at high heat fluxes encountered for example in nuclear reactor
applications.
At medium or high quality, it is commonly called dryout and it is
characterized by the discontinuation of the liquid film on the tube wall, usually in
annular flow. It is associated to moderate heat flux conditions. Dryout condition may
occur due to interruption of the liquid layer caused by surface wave instabilities (at
medium vapor qualities) or by dry up of the liquid layer on the heated wall due to
entrainment and vaporization (at high vapor qualities).
Critical heat flux has been extensively studied and vast amounts of data have been
collected, in particular for steam-water flow in vertical tubes. The CHF for a
uniformly heated tube usually varies linearly with the inlet subcooling degree,
increases with mass flux and tube diameter and asymptotes to zero as the tube length
increases.
3.2. TWOPHASEFLOWPATTERNS
Two-phase vapor-liquid flow can take on many geometrical configurations according
to the spatial distribution of the vapor and liquid phases in the channel. These
configurations are known as flow patterns.
In the study of microchannels, flow patterns observed via high speed visualizations
are categorized into five major flow regimes [47] bubbly, slug, churn, wispy-annular,
and annular flows; a post-dry-out regime of inverted-annular flow is also identified.
Although these flow patterns have a slightly different appearance in different channel
sizes and for different mass fluxes and flow rates, each is characterized by certain

42

THEORITICALBACKGROUND

common features. Figure [2.3.] represents different liquid and vapor phases in the
flow patterns which are represented below:
Figure [2.3.(a)] shows bubbly flow in which isolated round and elongated
bubbles that are smaller than the cross section of the microchannels move in the flow
direction. Bubbles generally nucleate at the microchannel walls and detach from the
walls after growing. The shape and size of the bubbles vary with flow rate and heat
flux.
As the heat flux increases, the bubble generation rate at the walls increases and
bubbles become larger as a result of bubble coalescence. At higher heat fluxes or in
smaller microchannels, bubbles occupy the entire cross section of the channels,
resulting in slug flow as shown in Figure [2.3. (b)]. Also small bubbles exist in the
liquid slugs between the elongated bubbles.
The churn flow regime is demonstrated in Figure [2.3. (c)]. This flow regime
consists of vapor chunks transported downstream and large bubbles nucleating at a
high rate at the channel walls. However, at high heat fluxes, the nucleation at the
walls may be suppressed.
In wispy-annular flow as in Figure [2.3. (d)], a vapor core is separated from
the channel walls with a relatively thick and unstable liquid film. Large, irregularshaped droplets are entrained into the vapor core. Very few nucleation sites remain in
the liquid film and result in small vapor bubbles in the liquid layer.
In annular flow, as illustrated in Figure [2.3. (e)], the liquid layer is thinner
than in wispy-annular flow, and the interface between the vapor core and the liquid
film may become wavy. The liquid film thickness decreases as the heat flux increases.
Small, round droplets are entrained into the vapor core, while no vapor bubbles are
seen in the liquid annulus.

43

THEORITICALBACKGROUND

At very high heat fluxes, when critical heat flux is reached, the walls can
completely dry out under certain conditions and a vapor blanket forms at the walls
around a liquid core flowing through the center of the channels. This flow regime is
called inverted annular flow Figure [2.3. (f)]. This flow regime is to be avoided since
it is accompanied with a sudden rise in the wall temperature and a significant drop in
the heat transfer coefficient.
Under some conditions, these flow patterns may alternate in a single channel,
resulting in an intermittent flow. In channels with large aspect rations, two different
flow patterns may also be present alongside each other across the width of the
channels.

Fig. 3.3, Different Flow Boiling Regimes [47]

44

THEORITICALBACKGROUND

3.3. NONDIMESIONALNUMBERS/PARAMETERSRELEVENTTOFLOWBOILING
HEATTRANSFERINMICROCHANNEL

Non-Dimensional

Significance

Numbers / Parameters
Martinelli Parameter (Xm)

This parameter [62] is an empirical expression. It is the

dp

X m2 = dz F L

ratio of frictional pressure drops between liquid and gas

flow. This parameter has been successfully employed in

dp

dz F V

two-phase model.

Convection number (Co)

Co = (1 x )

0 .8

0 .5

Convection number is a modified Martinelli Parameter

[62]. But its usage is limited to flow boiling heat transfer
only. This non-dimensional number was also proposed
empirically based on extensive data analysis.

Boiling number (Bo)

Bo =

Kandlikar and Balasubramanian [17] proposed this

number. Heat transfer coefficient trends depend on the

q //
GhLV

boiling number and the liquid to vapor density ratio. It is

used as an empirical relationship because heat flux is nondimensionalized with mass flux and latent heat without
fundamental study.
Kandlikar

K1

q //
K 1 =
Gh LV

[56]

proposed

this

number

based

on

fundamental considerations, for flow boiling heat

transfer, when surface tension forces become an
important consideration. It is the ratio of evaporation
momentum to inertia forces at the liquidvapor interface.

45

THEORITICALBACKGROUND

K2

Kandlikar [56] derived this number and suggested to use

q //
K 2 =
Gh LV

it in modeling interface motion, such as critical heat flux.

It is the ratio of evaporation momentum to surface tension
forces at the liquidvapor interface.

Bond number (Bn)

Bn =

gD 2 ( L V )

Bonjour

and

Lallemand

[7]

proposed

this

non-

dimensional number. They noted that the Bond number

effectively identifies the transition of flow patterns from
conventional diameter tubes to minichannels.

Etvs number (Eo)

Eo is same as Bond number [62], except that the

gL2 ( L V )

characteristic dimension L could be Dh or any other

Eo =

Capillary number (Ca)

Ca =

suitable parameter.
It is the ratio of viscous force to surface tension force
[62]. This non-dimensional number is very important in
microchannel flow since both the numbers have
significance effect during the flow.

Weber number (We)

We =

LG 2

We represents the ratio of the inertia to the surface

tension forces [62]. For flow through channels, L may be
replaced by Dh. this non-dimensional number is
commonly employed in analyzing the gas-liquid adiabatic
flows.

Jakob number (Ja)

Ja =

L c p,L T
V hLV

Ja represents the ratio of the sensible heat required for

reaching a saturation temperature to the latent heat [62].
This non-dimensional number is helpful in analyzing the
bubble growth phenomenon.

46

CHAPTER4
COMPUTATIONALFLUID
DYNAMICSMODELEQUATIONS

COMPUTATIONALFLUIDDYNAMICSMODELEQUATIONS

4. COMPUTATIONALFLUIDDYNAMICSMODELEQUATIONS
In this study both the single phase and multiphase models are used for solving the
problems. The simulated flow is supposed to be fully developed [69]. At first the
single phase model is used to obtain fully developed velocity profile at outlet of the
pipe and then this velocity profile is used as the inlet profile of multiphase pipe flow
simulation. The theories for all the models used in this chapter are adopted from the
ANSYS Fluent 13.0 [70, 71].
4.1. SINGLEPHASEMODELINGEQUATIONS
The single phase model equations include the equation of continuity, momentum
equation and energy equation (ANSYS Fluent 13.0). The continuity and momentum
equations are used to calculate velocity vector. The energy equation is used to
calculate turbulent kinetic energy & turbulent dissipation rate. The equations are as
follows:
4.1.1. MASSCONSERVATIONEQUATION
The equation for conservation of mass, or continuity equation, can be written as
follows:

+ . v = Sm
t

(4.1)

Equation (4.1) is the general form of the mass conservation equation, and is valid for
both incompressible & compressible flows. The source Sm is the mass added to the
continuous phase from the dispersed second phase (e.g., due to vaporization of liquid
droplets) and any user defined sources.

47

COMPUTATIONALFLUIDDYNAMICSMODELEQUATIONS

4.1.2. MOMENTUMCONSERVATIONEQUATION
Conservation of momentum in an inertial (non-accelerating) reference frame is
described by

()

+ . = g + F + . P
t

(4.2)

Where p is the static pressure, is the stress tensor (described below), and g and

F are the gravitational body force and external body forces (e.g., that arise from
interaction with the dispersed phase), respectively. F also contains other model
dependent source terms such as porous-media and user-defined sources.
The stress tensor is given by

= + T . I
3

(4.3)

Where is the molecular viscosity, I is the unit tensor, and the second term on the
right hand side is the effect of volume dilation.
4.1.3. ENERGYEQUATION
ANSYS FLUENT solves the energy equation in the following form:

( ) + S

E + . (E + p ) = .k eff T h j J j + eff .
t

(4.4)

Where eff is the effective conductivity (eff = + t, where t is the turbulent thermal
conductivity, defined according to the turbulence model being used), and J j is the

48

COMPUTATIONALFLUIDDYNAMICSMODELEQUATIONS

diffusion flux of species J. The first three terms on the right-hand side of Equation
represent energy transfer due to conduction, species diffusion, and viscous
dissipation, respectively. Sh includes the heat of chemical reaction, and any other
volumetric heat sources.
In Eq. (4.4)

E =h

(4.5)

Where sensible enthalpy h is defined for ideal gases as

h = Y j h j

(4.6)

Yj is the mass fraction of species j.

h = c
j

(4.7)

dT

p, j

Tref is used as 298.15 K.

4.2. TWOPHASEMODELINGEQUATIONS
A large number of flows encountered in nature and technology are a mixture of
phases. Physical phases of matter are gas, liquid, and solid, but the concept of phase
in a multiphase flow system is applied in a broader sense. In multiphase flow, a phase
can be defined as an identifiable class of material that has a particular inertial
response to and interaction with the flow and the potential field in which it is
immersed. Currently there are two approaches for the numerical calculation of
multiphase flows:
9 Euler-Lagrange approach
9 Euler-Euler approach.

49

COMPUTATIONALFLUIDDYNAMICSMODELEQUATIONS

Euler-Lagrange approach
The Lagrangian discrete phase model in ANSYS FLUENT follows the EulerLagrange approach. The fluid phase is treated as a continuum by solving the NavierStokes equations, while the dispersed phase is solved by tracking a large number of
particles, bubbles, or droplets through the calculated flow field. The dispersed phase
can exchange momentum, mass, and energy with the fluid phase.
Euler-Euler approach
In the Euler-Euler approach, the different phases are treated mathematically as
interpenetrating continua. Since the volume of a phase cannot be occupied by the
other phases, the concept of phase volume fraction is introduced. These volume
fractions are assumed to be continuous functions of space and time and their sum is
equal to one.
In ANSYS FLUENT, three different Euler-Euler multiphase models are available:
9 Volume of fluid (VOF) model
9 Mixture model
9 Eulerian model.
In this study the VOF model has been used. An exhaustive theory of the VOF model
from ANSYS Fluent 13 has been given below. The other two models are provided
with an introduction only.
4.2.1. VOLUMEOFFLUID(VOF)MODEL
The VOF model is a surface-tracking technique applied to a fixed Eulerian mesh. It is
used for two or more immiscible fluids where the position of the interface between the

50

COMPUTATIONALFLUIDDYNAMICSMODELEQUATIONS

fluids is of interest. In the VOF model, a single set of momentum equations is shared
by the fluids, and the volume fraction of each of the fluids in each computational cell
is tracked throughout the domain. The VOF formulation in ANSYS FLUENT is
generally used to compute a time dependent solution, but for problems in which
concerned are only with a steady-state solution; it is possible to perform a steady-state
calculation.
4.2.1.1.

VOLUMEFRACTIONEQUATION

The tracking of the interface(s) between the phases is accomplished by the solution of
a continuity equation for the volume fraction of one (or more) of the phases. For the
qth (fluids volume fraction) phase, this equation has the following form:
.

(4.8)

Where mqp is the mass transfer from phase q to phase p and mpq is the mass transfer
from phase p to phase q. By default, the source term on the right-hand side of Eq. 3.8,
is zero, but we can specify a constant or user-defined mass source for each phase.
The volume fraction equation will not be solved for the primary phase; the primaryphase volume fraction will be computed based on the following constraint:

1
4.2.1.2.

(4.9)
MATERIALPROPERTIES

The properties appearing in the transport equations are determined by the presence of
the component phases in each control volume. In a two-phase system, for example, if

51

COMPUTATIONALFLUIDDYNAMICSMODELEQUATIONS

the phases are represented by the subscripts 1 and 2, and the mixture density in each
cell is given by

= 2 2 + (1 2 )1

(4.10)

In general, for n phase system, the volume-fraction-averaged density takes on the

following form:

= q q

(4.11)

All other properties (e.g., viscosity) are also computed in this manner.
4.2.1.3.

MOMENTUMEQUATION

A single momentum equation is solved throughout the domain, and the resulting
velocity field is shared among the phases. The momentum equation, shown below, is
dependent on the volume fractions of all phases through the properties and .

[(

)]

= g + F + . + t P
+

(4.12)

One limitation of the shared-fields approximation is that in cases where large velocity
differences exist between the phases, the accuracy of the velocities computed near the
interface can be adversely affected.
4.2.1.4.

ENERGYEQUATION

The energy equation, also shared among the phases, is shown below

E + . (E + p ) = .[k eff T ] + S h
t

(4.13)

52

COMPUTATIONALFLUIDDYNAMICSMODELEQUATIONS

The VOF model treats energy, E and temperature, T as mass-averaged variables:

n

E=

q =1
n

q Eq

q =1

(4.14)

Where Eq for each phase is based on the specific heat of that phase and the shared
temperature.
The properties and keff (effective thermal conductivity) are shared by the phases. The
source term Sh, contains contributions from radiation, as well as any other volumetric
heat sources.
4.2.2. MIXTUREMODEL
The mixture model is designed for two or more phases (fluid or particulate). As in the
Eulerian model, the phases are treated as interpenetrating continua. The mixture
model solves for the mixture momentum equation and prescribes relative velocities to
describe the dispersed phases. The mixture model is a simplified multiphase model
that can be used in different ways. The mixture model allows us to select granular
phases and calculates all properties of the granular phases. This is applicable for
liquid-solid flows.
4.2.3. EULERIANMODEL
The Eulerian multiphase model in ANSYS FLUENT allows for the modeling of
multiple separate, yet interacting phases. The phases can be liquids, gases, or solids in
nearly any combination. The phases are treated as interpenetrating continua. With the

53

COMPUTATIONALFLUIDDYNAMICSMODELEQUATIONS

Eulerian multiphase model, the number of secondary phases is limited only by

memory requirements and convergence behavior.
The ANSYS FLUENT solution in Eulerian Model is based on the following:
9 A single pressure is shared by all phases.
9 Momentum and continuity equations are solved for each phase.
9 The following parameters are available for granular phases:
o Granular temperature (solids fluctuating energy) can be calculated for
each solid phase. One can select either an algebraic formulation, a
constant, a user-defined function, or a partial differential equation.
o Solid-phase shear and bulk viscosities are obtained by applying kinetic
theory to granular flows. Frictional viscosity for modeling granular
flow is also available. One can select appropriate models and userdefined functions for all properties.
9 Several inter-phase drag coefficient functions are available, which are
appropriate for various types of multiphase regimes (the interphase drag
coefficient can be modified through user-defined functions).
9 All of the k - and k - turbulence models are available, and may apply to
all phases or to the mixture.

54

CHAPTER5
SOLUTIONMETHODOLOGY

SOLUTIONMETHODOLOGY

5. SOLUTIONMETHODOLOGY
The Volume of Fluid (VOF) method has been used for solving the simulated problem.
The VOF method is best suited for immiscible fluids, as suggested by ANSYS Fluent.
Recently some researchers [69, 74] have used this method for analyzing boiling heat
transfer in microchannel. Result obtained from this simulation is compared with the
experimental results in reference [22] for validation purpose. In addition the
microchannel material, its hydraulic diameter & length, inlet & outlet flow conditions
and the input heat flux in the model is set according to the experimental work
mentioned in the reference [22] for validation.
5.1. SPECIFICATIONOFTHEPROBLEM
Consider a steady state fluid (water) is flowing through a circular microchannel of
constant cross-sectional area. Its hydraulic diameter & length are 0.4 m & 0.0127 m
respectively. The microchannel is single in no. & is placed horizontally. Water enters
the microchannel in liquid condition. Inlet velocity & temperature are set according to
different simulated runs and are detailed in appropriate manner in chapter 6 i.e.
Results & Discussion. The operating pressure is kept atmospheric.

0.0127m
Outlet
400m

Inlet

Uniformheatflux

Fig. 5.1, Fluid Flow Through a Rectangular Microchannel

55

SOLUTIONMETHODOLOGY

The simulated flow is supposed to be fully developed [69]. Thats why first single
phase model is used to obtain fully developed velocity profile at outlet of the pipe and
then this velocity profile is used as the inlet profile of multiphase flow simulation.
5.2. GEOMETRYOFTHECOMPUTATIONALDOMAIN
In ANSYS Workbench a rectangular cross-sectional microchannel of equivalent
hydraulic diameter is drawn and is represented as a 2-D computational domain. The
geometry consists of inlet, outlet, wall (upper wall) & heated wall (uniform heat flux
is given to this wall) which are shown below:

Fig. 5.2, Specification of Zone Type in ANSYS Workbench

5.3. MESHINGOFTHECOMPUTATIONALDOMAIN
Grid style of mesh is adopted for the rectangular domain. 60 x 600 cells are created.
The no. of faces are 72660. The quality of the mesh is as follows:
9 Minimum orthogonal quality = 1.00000e+00 (orthogonal quality ranges from 0
to 1, where values close to 0 corresponds to low quality)
9 Maximum aspect ratio = 3.32876e+00

56

SOLUTIONMETHODOLOGY

The 2-D computational domain of the microchannel with structured mesh is shown
below:

Fig. 5.3, Two Dimensional Computational Domain With Grid Type Mesh
5.4. MATERIALPROPERTIES
Pure water is used as base working fluid. Silicon is considered as the microchannel
material. The density, heat capacity and thermal conductivity of silicon are 2330
kg/m3, 712 J/(kg-.K) and 148 W/(m-K) respectively. Properties of liquid water and
water vapor at different temperatures are as follows:
Properties of liquid water
Thermal
Temperature
(K)

Density
(kg/m3)

Specific Heat

Viscosity
Conductivity

(J/kg-.K)

(Kg/m-s)
(watt/m-K)

338.15

980.45

4187

0.6589

0.000434

348.15

974.68

4193

0.6668

0.000378

57

SOLUTIONMETHODOLOGY

358.15

968.39

4200

0.6728

0.000315

363.15

965.06

4205

0.6740

0.000315

368.15

961.62

4210

0.6774

0.000298

373.15

958.05

4216

0.6791

0.000282

Table 5.1, Properties of liquid water at different temperatures

Properties of water vapor
Thermal
Temperature

Density

Specific Heat

(K)

(kg/m3)

(J/kg-.K)

Viscosity
Conductivity
(Kg/m-s)
(watt/m-K)

380

0.5859

2028.85

0.02552

1.224e-05

385

0.5778

2019.53

0.02606

1.271e-05

390

0.5700

2011.49

0.02661

1.290e-05

395

0.5624

2004.58

0.02719

1.309e-05

Table 5.2, Properties of water vapor at different temperatures

5.5. GOVERNINGEQUATIONS
For 2D axis symmetric geometries, the continuity equation is given by ANSYS Fluent
13.0 is as follows:

+ ( x ) + ( r ) + r = 0
t x
r
r

(5.1)

Where x represents axial coordinate in the direction of flow, r is the radial coordinate
i.e. transverse direction, x is the axial velocity, and r is the radial velocity
components.

58

SOLUTIONMETHODOLOGY

For 2D axis symmetric geometries, the axial and radial momentum conservation
equations are given by (ANSYS Fluent 13.0):

( ) +

( x ) + 1 (r x x ) + 1 (r r x ) = 1 r 2 x 2 .
r x
r r
r x x 3
t
1 x r
p
+ Fx

r 2
x
r r r x

(5.2)

And

(r ) + 1 (r x r ) + 1 (r r r ) = 1 r 2 r + x
r x
r r
r x x
r
t

( )

( )

2
z2
1 r 2
. +
+ Fr +
.
2 2 +
r 2
3r
r
r
r r r 3

p

r

(5.3)

Where,

. =

x r r
+
+
x
r
r

(5.4)

And vz is swirling component.

Since the microchannel have very small thickness and is placed horizontally, the
external body force F is taken as zero.
The governing equation for energy is same as represented in Eq. 4.4.
The maximum Reynolds no. encountered in this numerical work is 1935. So based on
the criteria, Re < 2000 indicates laminar flow, the physical model used in all the
simulated runs has been chosen as viscous laminar model.

59

SOLUTIONMETHODOLOGY

5.6. BOUNDARYCONDITIONS
A no slip boundary condition was assigned for the non porous wall surfaces, where
both velocity components were set to zero at that boundary. A constant heat flux is
applied on the channel wall during a computational run. A uniform mass flow rate and
constant temperature were assigned at the channel inlet during each simulation.
5.7. METHODOFSOLUTIONS
Commercial software ANSYS Fluent 13.0 to is used to solve the problem. The
specified solver in Fluent uses a pressure-velocity coupling based SIMPLE iterative
algorithm. Pressure is solved using PRESTO discretization scheme, whereas
momentum, energy and volume fraction equations are solved using the 2nd order
upwind scheme. The convergence criteria for all the dependent variables are specified
as 1e-05. Mass flow rate at inlet and outlet is set up as additional surface monitor.
Volume fraction of vapor at the outlet is also set up as another additional surface
monitor. The default values of under-relaxation factor used in this simulation work
are presented below:
Factors

Value

Pressure

0.3

Density

1.0

Body Force

0.5

Momentum

0.2

Vaporization Mass

0.5

Volume Fraction

0.3

Energy

0.9

Table 5.3 Under-Relaxation Factors

60

SOLUTIONMETHODOLOGY

5.8. GRIDINDEPENDENCESTUDY
A grid study has been done to find a suitable combination of the grids along ordinate
and abscissa direction, so that the results obtained are independent of the grids.
Velocity profile at outlet has been considered for the study. Three different grid sizes
of 30 X 300, 60 X 600 and 90 X 900 are used.
0.8
30 X 300
60 X 600
90 X 900

0.7
Velocity(m/s)

0.6
0.5
0.4
0.3
0.2
0.1
0.0
0

0.0001

0.0002
0.0003
Position(m/s)

0.0004

Fig. 5.4, Outlet Velocity Profile at Different Grid Sizes

It has been found that the all the three velocity profile are almost identical with each
other in values as well as and in trends. The error percentage of the maximum velocity
value at the center of the pipe is tabulated below:

Grid Size

30 X 300

60 X 600

90 X 900

Velocity (m/s)

0.673497

0.674622

0.674828

% error

0.167

0.03

Table 5.4 Error percentage of Maximum Velocity Value at The Center of The Pipe
For Different Grid Sizes

61

CHAPTER6
RESULTSANDDISCUSSION

RESULTSANDDISCUSSION

6. RESULTSANDDISCUSSION
6.1. VALIDATION
Figure 6.1 represents the comparison of results obtained from experimental analysis
by Liu, Lee and Garimella [22] with the simulation results of the present work. The
Onset of Nucleate Boiling (ONB) has been identified as a function of different fluid
inlet temperature. The Onset of Nucleate Boiling is the first generation of vapor
bubble(s) and the corresponding heat flux is the Incipient Heat Flux. ONB demarcates
the transition from single-phase to two-phase flow regime. The fluid velocity at the

IncipientHeatFlux(Watt/cm2)

inlet is 0.45 m/s and the corresponding Reynolds No. is 558.

70
PresentWork

60

Experimentalwork[22]

50
40
30
20
10
0
15

30

45
60
75
FluidInletTemperature(C)

90

Fig.6.1,EffectofDifferentInletTemperatureonIncipientHeatFlux
From the above figure it is found that the Incipient Heat flux increases with the
decrement of fluid inlet temperature and the Onset of Nucleate boiling appears to be
an almost linear function of the fluid inlet temperature.
The numerical scheme is found to resemble the experimental work of Liu, Lee and
Garimella [22] both qualitatively as well as quantitatively and this is used for
validation.

62

RESULTSANDDISCUSSION

6.2. EFFECTOFVARIOUSINLETVELOCITYONINCIPIENTHEATFLUX
The Incipient Heat Flux is also investigated as a function of fluid inlet velocity
and is represented in Figure 6.2. The inlet temperature of the fluid is kept at a
constant value of 343.15 K. Figure 6.2 indicates that the incipient heat flux
increases with increased fluid inlet velocity.

IncipientHeatFlux(KW/m2)

410
360
310
260
210
160
0

0.5

1.5

FluidInletVelocity(m/s)

Fig.6.2,EffectofdifferentInletVelocityonIncipientHeatFlux
6.3. EFFECT OF VARIOUS REYNOLDS NO. ON VOLUME FRACTION OF VAPOR,
STATICTEMPERATURE&HEATTRANSFERCOEFFICIENTATTHEWALL
Figure 6.3, figure 6.4 and figure 6.5 represents the variation of volume fraction of
vapor, static temperature and heat transfer coefficient at the heated wall (figure
5.2.) at various Reynolds no. respectively. The inlet temperature of fluid and the
uniform heat flux given to the heated wall is kept constant for all the simulations and
there values are 343.15 K & 220 KW/m2 respectively.

63

RESULTSANDDISCUSSION

(b)
(a)

(d)
(c)

(e)

(f)

Fig.6.3,VolumeFractionofVaporattheHeatedWallalongtheFlowDirectionat
DifferentReynoldsNumber:(a)200,(b)300,(c)400,(d)436,(e)500,(f)550

64

RESULTSANDDISCUSSION

(a)

(b)

(c)

(d)

(e)

(f)

Fig.6.4,StaticTemperatureattheHeatedWallAlongtheFlowDirectionatDifferent
ReynoldsNumber:(a)200,(b)300,(c)400,(d)436,(e)500,(f)550

65

RESULTSANDDISCUSSION

(a)

(b)

(c)

(d)

(e)

(f)

Fig.6.5,HeatTransferCoefficientattheHeatedWallAlongtheFlowDirectionat
DifferentReynoldsNumber:(a)200,(b)300,(c)400,(d)436,(e)500,(f)550

66

RESULTSANDDISCUSSION

Figure 6.3 shows that at higher Reynolds no. vapor bubble(s) nucleate very
close to the outlet of the pipe and with the increase in the Reynolds no. the nucleation
site shifts towards downstream. It is also evident that the volume fraction of vapor
decreases with the decrement of Reynolds no.
At low Reynolds no. the mass flux is less, compared to the mass flux at higher
Reynolds no. So the heat carried away by the fluid at higher Reynolds no. is more
than the heat carried away at lower Reynolds no. This causes the first generation of
vapor bubble(s) to shift towards downstream as the Reynolds no. is increased.
Also at Re = 550 (corresponding velocity of fluid is 0.56) the magnitude of
uniform heat flux applied at the heated wall is very close to the incipient heat flux
(figure 6.2). As the Reynolds no. decreases the incipient heat flux also decrease. But
during each simulation the Reynolds no. is increased keeping the input heat flux
constant. This leads to increase in wall superheat as the Reynolds no. is decreased.
This causes generation of more vapor bubbles at low Reynolds no. compared to vapor
bubble generation at higher Reynolds no.
Figure 6.4 indicates the variation of static temperature at the heated wall along
the flow direction, at different Reynolds number. When the wall temperature reaches
the boiling temperature i.e. 373.15 K bubble generation starts. The static temperature
at the heated wall increases along the downstream. In addition, with increase in
Reynolds no. the boiling temperature at the heated wall gradually shifts towards
downstream.
As the bubble lift off the wall and flow with the liquid, the temperature at the
bubble interface changes. Therefore, when the thermally developing region dominates

67

RESULTSANDDISCUSSION

in microchannel, the significant heterogeneous temperature causes non-uniformity of

evaporation and condensation of vapor bubbles and this gives rise to the fluctuation of
temperature profile.
The heat transfer coefficient (figure 6.5) at the inlet is high and it falls sharply
along the flow direction. But once the boiling process starts, the temperature at the
heated wall starts fluctuating, which causes fluctuation in the heat transfer coefficient
as well. The high heat transfer coefficients at the inlet are a result of sufficient wetting
of microchannel surface by the incoming flow.
Both convective and nucleate boiling components are present in the range of
simulation operation (i.e. Re = 200 to 550 and constant inlet temperature & uniform
heat flux of 343.15 K & 220 KW/m2 respectively). Convective boiling region
decreases as Reynolds no. is increased.

68

CHAPTER7
CONCLUSIONSANDFUTURE
SCOPEOFWORK

CONCLUSIONSANDFUTURESCOPEOFWORK

7. CONCLUSIONSANDFUTURESCOPEOFWORK
7.1. CONCLUSIONS
A numerical work has been carried out to investigate flow boiling heat transfer in
microchannel using a commercial flow solver (ANSYS Fluent 13.0). An attempt has
been made to identify the effects of various Reynolds no. on volume fraction of vapor,
static temperature and heat transfer coefficient at the heated wall, along the flow
direction. Also the influence of different fluid inlet temperature and different fluid
inlet velocity, on the Onset of Nucleate Boiling has been investigated. The major
conclusions from the numerical analysis summarized herein are:
9 The incipient heat flux is influenced by both the inlet velocity as well as the
fluid inlet temperature independently, to a great deal.
9 As the mass flux is increased (by increasing Reynolds no.), the region of
single phase flow amplifies.
9 The volume fraction of vapor decreases with the increment in Reynolds no.
9 Once vapor bubble(s) generation starts, dramatic changes in the temperature
and heat transfer coefficient at the heated wall is observed.
9 Sufficient wetting at the inlet region leads to higher heat transfer coefficients,
in comparison, at further downstream.
9 Convective boiling dominates at lower Reynolds no.

69

CONCLUSIONSANDFUTURESCOPEOFWORK

7.2. FUTURESCOPEOFWORK
Microchannel heat and fluid flow problems are gaining importance day by day. With
the miniaturization of various devices, investigations have to be carried out
accurately. However a large number of parameters are involved. Outlet pressure
variation, microchannel width variation along with height may also be studied for
optimization of the design parameters. Moreover the same analysis can be carried out
for microducts as well.

70

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