Experimental Heat Transfer, Vol.25, No.3, 172-180, 2012
INFLUENCE OF FLUID FLOW DISTRIBUTION IN MICRO-CHANNEL ARRAYS TO PHASE TRANSITION PROCESSES
Microstructured heat exchangers are well suited for such phase transition processes as evaporation of liquids due to their heat transfer capabilities, being two to three orders of magnitude higher than those of conventional heat transfer devices. Controlling liquid evaporation inside micro-channels to provide full evaporation in a stable way is not trivial. In most cases, such instabilities as slug flow, bubbly flow, or vapor clogging occur, based on cross-talk possibilities between the individual micro-channels of a channel array, normally caused by open void inlet structures. Therefore, fluid inlet distribution is inhomogeneous, which results, in the best case, in a parabolic shape of a stable evaporation frontline. The parabolic shape occurs due to the residence time distribution of the fluid, generated by shorter path length in the array center and longer ones in the outer areas of the micro-channel array. Computational fluid dynamics simulation approves this result. Such a frontline can be kept stable when the process parameters are well controlled. Small deviations of the inlet parameters may lead to strong disturbances of the evaporation process, destabilizing it. When changing the inlet fluid distribution system to provide the most equal flow distribution possible, the span of the parabolic shape of the evaporation frontline can be reduced drastically. Finally, a stable evaporation frontline perpendicular to flow direction can be obtained. This status is no longer very sensitive to process deviations. This article presents an optimized micro-channel device for the optical investigation of phase transition phenomena. The device allows the exchange of integrated micro-channel arrays to investigate different designs for their suitability. It is separated into three independent sections, which can be heated or cooled individually. Therefore, very strict and rapid temperature jumps can be obtained within relatively short distances. The micro-channel array foils used for the experiments have been manufactured by mechanical micro-machining. Thus, the cross-sections of the micro-channels are always rectangular. Hydraulic diameter and length of the micro-channels, as well as the shape of the inlet and outlet voids, can be varied. Using a simple triangular or rectangular open inlet void, a stable evaporation line was generated, showing a parabolic shape. Depending on the mass flow and the size and shape of the inlet void, the span of the parabolic arc was influenceable.