Two-phase flow patterns in parallel micro-channels

Micro-channel heat sinks with two-phase flow can satisfy the increasing heat removal requirements of modern micro-electronic devices. Some of the important aspects associated with two-phase flows in microchannels, is to study the bubble behavior and flow regimes in diabatic, parallel micro-channels. Most of the reports in the literature present data of only a single channel and mostly adiabatic. This does not account for flow mixing and hydrodynamic instability that occurs in parallel micro-channels, connected by common inlet and outlet collectors. In the present study, experiments were performed for air-water and steam-water flow in parallel triangular micro-channels. The experimental study is based on systematic measurements of temperature and flow pattern by infrared radiometry and high-speed digital video imaging. In air-water flow different flow patterns were observed simultaneously in the various micro-channels at a fixed values of water and gas flow rates. In steam-water flow, instability in uniformly heated micro-channels was observed. This work develops a practical modeling approach for two-phase micro-channel heat sinks and considers the discrepancy between flow patterns of air-water and steam-water flow in parallel micro-channels. (C) 2003 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.