EXPERIMENTAL INVESTIGATION OF HEAT-TRANSFER IN FLAT PLATES WITH RECTANGULAR MICROCHANNELS

An experimental investigation was conducted to determine the heat tran sfer characteristics and cooling performance of rectangular-shaped mic rogrooves machined into stainless steel plates. Using methanol as the cooling fluid, grooves with different aspect ratios and a variety of c enter-to-center spacings were evaluated. The influence of liquid veloc ity, subcooling, property variations and microchannel geometric config uration on the heat transfer behavior, cooling performance, and heat t ransfer and liquid flow mode transition were analyzed experimentally. Measurements made to clarify the flow nucleate boiling attributes indi cated an increased heat transfer rate and a behavior that was quite di fferent from what typically occurs in larger tubes or channels, due to the relatively large portion of the surface area associated with the thin-film region.