Effects of structural parameter on flow boiling performance of interconnected microchannel net

Developed thermal management solutions for microelectronic fields have got extensive attentions these years. In this study, an interconnected microchannel net (IMN) was developed via micro wire electrical discharge machining process to explore the feasibility of flow boiling heat transfer enhancement. The experiments for the IMNs with different structural parameters were conducted using deionized water as the coolant with variation in the heat flux and under an inlet subcooling of 40 °C and constant mass flow rate of 180 kg m−2 s−1. Four IMN samples with different channel width, i.e., 0.25, 0.4, 0.55 and 0.7 mm, were investigated to study the effects of channel size and heat flux on flow boiling characteristics, i.e., two-phase heat transfer, pressure drops and two-phase flow instabilities, were proceeded in order to optimize the structural design of the IMN. Test results indicate that the sample IMN-2 with the channel width of 0.4 mm manifests the overall best flow boiling performance, which exhibits more favorable two-phase heat transfer and pressure drop characteristics, as well as the prominent superiority for the mitigation of two-phase instability. This reveals a highlight for the potential application in the flow boiling enhancement of microchannel heat transfer.