THE USE OF THE BRINKMAN NUMBER FOR SINGLE-PHASE FORCED CONVECTIVE HEAT-TRANSFER IN MICROCHANNELS

From a survey on studies on convective heat transfer in microchannels. the Brinkman number is proposed as a parameter for correlating the co nvective heat transfer parameters in microchannels. The proposal emerg es from a dimensional analysis of the variables influencing the lamina r forced convection in microchannels and it can explain the unusual be haviour of convective heat transfer in the laminar regime in microchan nels. Its incorporation is also supported by an energy balance across the microchannel. The physical significance of the Brinkman number as applicable to microchannels and the role played in convective heat tra nsfer in microchannels are elaborated. The limited experimental data r eported in the literature for the laminar regime heat transfer seem to correlate with the number. A dimensionless geometric parameter is als o proposed. (C) 1998 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.