Saturated Pool Boiling Heat Transfer on Microstructured Surfaces: A Generalized Prediction Model and Experiment Evaluation

Abstract

The rapid advancements in MEMS and NEMS have introduced significant challenges in managing high heat flux dissipation, which directly affects the performance and reliability of electronic devices. Among various solutions, pool boiling stands out as a highly efficient and reliable passive thermal management technique. It offers promising prospects for addressing the thermal management issues of high heat flux equipment, especially in applications like 5G base stations and data centers. One key factor that enhances the effectiveness of pool boiling is the microstructural design of surfaces, which plays a vital role in promoting bubble nucleation and detachment, thereby improving boiling heat transfer. In this study, pool boiling heat transfer experiments were conducted at different saturation pressures, using R1233zd(E) as the working fluid and employing modified surfaces to optimize heat transfer performance. High-speed imaging techniques were utilized to capture the bubble dynamics behavior and analyze the mechanisms underlying enhanced boiling heat transfer. The study systematically investigated how various microstructured surfaces impact boiling performance under identical boundary conditions. To deepen the understanding of heat transfer enhancement, a generalized model for predicting critical heat flux (CHF) was developed, incorporating bubble coil suction and capillary effects. The CHF prediction model was validated against both the experimental data from this study and data from the literature. The results show strong consistency, with a standard deviation of ±20%.

Keywords: Pool boiling, Microstructured surface, Critical heat flux, Heat transfer coefficient, R1233zd(E)