Experimental Study on Flow Boiling Heat Transfer Characteristics in Top-Connected Microchannels with a Ni/Ag Micro/Nano Composite Structure

Zeyu Xu, Wei Zhang (), Qianqian Zhang, Xiangrui Zhai, Xufei Yang (), Yajun Deng and Xi Wang
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Zeyu Xu: Beijing Key Laboratory of Pipeline Critical Technology and Equipment for Deepwater Oil & Gas Development, School of Mechanical Engineering, Beijing Institute of Petrochemical Technology, Beijing 102617, China
Wei Zhang: Beijing Key Laboratory of Pipeline Critical Technology and Equipment for Deepwater Oil & Gas Development, School of Mechanical Engineering, Beijing Institute of Petrochemical Technology, Beijing 102617, China
Qianqian Zhang: Beijing Key Laboratory of Pipeline Critical Technology and Equipment for Deepwater Oil & Gas Development, School of Mechanical Engineering, Beijing Institute of Petrochemical Technology, Beijing 102617, China
Xiangrui Zhai: Beijing Key Laboratory of Pipeline Critical Technology and Equipment for Deepwater Oil & Gas Development, School of Mechanical Engineering, Beijing Institute of Petrochemical Technology, Beijing 102617, China
Xufei Yang: Beijing Key Laboratory of Pipeline Critical Technology and Equipment for Deepwater Oil & Gas Development, School of Mechanical Engineering, Beijing Institute of Petrochemical Technology, Beijing 102617, China
Yajun Deng: Beijing Key Laboratory of Pipeline Critical Technology and Equipment for Deepwater Oil & Gas Development, School of Mechanical Engineering, Beijing Institute of Petrochemical Technology, Beijing 102617, China
Xi Wang: Beijing Key Laboratory of Pipeline Critical Technology and Equipment for Deepwater Oil & Gas Development, School of Mechanical Engineering, Beijing Institute of Petrochemical Technology, Beijing 102617, China

Energies, 2025, vol. 18, issue 7, 1-16

Abstract: Microchannel heat exchangers, with their large specific surface area, exhibit high heat/mass transfer efficiency and have a wide range of applications in chemical engineering and energy. To enhance microchannel flow boiling heat transfer, a top-connected microchannel heat exchanger with a Ni/Ag micro/nano composite surface was designed. Using anhydrous ethanol as the working fluid, comparative flow boiling heat transfer experiments were conducted on regular parallel microchannels (RMC), top-connected microchannels (TCMC), and TCMC with a Ni/Ag micro/nano composite surface (TCMC-Ni/Ag). Results show that the TCMC-Ni/Ag’s maximum local heat transfer coefficient reaches 179.84 kW/m 2 ·K, which is 4.1 times that of RMC. Visualization reveals that its strongly hydrophilic micro/nano composite surface increases bubble nucleation density and nucleation frequency. Under medium-low heat flux, the vapor phase converges in the top-connected region while bubbles form on the microchannel surface; under high heat flux, its capillary liquid absorption triggers a thin-liquid-film convective evaporation mode, which is the key mechanism for improved heat transfer performance.

Keywords: microchannel; flow boiling; heat transfer enhancement; Ni/Ag micro/nano composite structure; wettability (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q Q0 Q4 Q40 Q41 Q42 Q43 Q47 Q48 Q49 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2025
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