Open Access

ARTICLE

VOLUME OF FLUID SIMULATION OF BOILING TWO-PHASE FLOW IN A VAPOR-VENTING MICROCHANNEL

Chen Fang^*, Milnes David, Anita Rogacs, Kenneth Goodson

Mechanical Engineering Department, Stanford University, Stanford, CA, 94305

* Corresponding Author: Email:

Frontiers in Heat and Mass Transfer 2010, 1(1), 1-11. https://doi.org/10.5098/hmt.v1.1.3002

Abstract

Vapor-venting microchannel heat exchangers are promising because they address the problems of high pressure drop, flow instability, and local dryout that are common in conventional two-phase microchannel heat sinks. We present a 3D numerical simulation of the vapor-venting process in a rectangular microchannel bounded on one side by a hydrophobic porous membrane for phase-separation. The simulation is based on the volume of fluid (VOF) method together with models for interphase mass transfer and capillary force. Simulation shows the vapor-venting mechanism can effectively mitigate the vapor accumulation issue, reduce the pressure drop, and suppress the local dry-out in the microchannel. Pressure surge is observed in the vapor-venting channel. The simulation provides some insight into the design and optimization of vapor-venting heat exchangers.

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