Review and comparative analysis of studies on saturated flow boiling in small channels

Recent studies relating to saturated flow boiling in minichannels and microchannels are reviewed, with a focus on the functional dependence of the heat transfer characteristics on thermodynamic vapor quality. While there is general agreement in the literature that the heat transfer coefficient increases with increases in heat flux, conflicting trends have been reported on the influence of vapor quality. A compilation and analysis of the results from recent investigations in the literature on flow boiling in small channels is presented. Further, correlations for flow boiling proposed in these studies are quantitatively assessed by comparing them against 10 independent data sets from the published literature covering a range of hydraulic diameters from 0.16 to 2.01 mm. Recommended topics for future research in this field are also identified.