EXPERIMENTAL INVESTIGATION OF HEAT-TRANSFER IN FLAT PLATES WITH RECTANGULAR MICROCHANNELS

An experimental investigation was conducted to determine the heat transfer characteristics and cooling performance of rectangular-shaped microgrooves machined into stainless steel plates. Using methanol as the cooling fluid, grooves with different aspect ratios and a variety of center-to-center spacings were evaluated. The influence of liquid velocity, subcooling, property variations and microchannel geometric configuration on the heat transfer behavior, cooling performance, and heat transfer and liquid flow mode transition were analyzed experimentally. Measurements made to clarify the flow nucleate boiling attributes indicated an increased heat transfer rate and a behavior that was quite different from what typically occurs in larger tubes or channels, due to the relatively large portion of the surface area associated with the thin-film region.