Experimental Investigation of Flow Boiling in Parallel Mini-channels

Flow boiling in micro-channels and mini-channels has received significant attention due to its capability for dissipating highflux heat, especially in the thermal management of high precision electronics. A heat sink with narrow rectangular mini-channels is designed to investigate flow boiling in the mini-channels, including the effect of gravity. It contains 14 parallel channels with a cross section, of 1×4mm 2, of which the hydraulic diameter is 1.6mm. The cooling capability, the temperature uniformity, and the temperature stability of the flow boiling in minichannels are investigated with R22, with total mass flow flux ranges from 35 to 70kg/m 2s. The results show that the cooling capability of the heat- sink is up to 340W(∼ 3.0W/cm 2), and the temperature difference is below 4 ∘C(even down to 2 ∘C) on the heat sink. The temperature uniformity isn’t quite sensitive to heat flux. The instability has not been observed in the present researches.