Flow boiling characteristics in a novel minichannel with a step on each corner

ABSTRACTIn the present study, flow boiling in a single minichannel with a longitudinal step on its each corner is studied experimentally. Bubble/flow dynamics, and thus, underlying physical phenomenon is investigated through high-speed flow visualization experiments. The results are also compared with those of the conventional single rectangular minichannel (plane channel) in terms of heat transfer and total pressure drop. Experiments are performed for different values of the mass flux and wall heat flux at a constant inlet temperature. It is obtained that the stepped channel improves heat transfer performance up to 13.2% compared to the plane channel. During the visualization studies, five flow patterns are observed: bubbly flow, slug flow, churn flow, annular flow, and inverted annular flow.