International Journal of Heat and Mass Transfer, Vol.124, 782-793, 2018
Development and validation of a semi-empirical model for two-phase heat transfer from arrays of impinging jets
Two-phase jet impingement is a compact cooling technology that provides high-heat-flux dissipation at manageable pressure drop, with applications in cooling power electronics and server modules. The extensive set of geometrical parameters and operating conditions that determine the heat transfer behavior of jet impingement systems provide an attractive level of design flexibility. In the present study, a semi empirical approach is developed to predict heat transfer from arrays of jets of liquid that undergoes phase change upon impingement. In the modeling approach developed, the jet array is divided into unit cells centered on each orifice that are assumed to behave identically. Based on prior experimental observations, the impingement surface in each unit cell is divided into two distinct regions: a single-phase heat transfer region directly under the jet, and a surrounding boiling heat transfer region along the periphery. Single-phase convection and boiling heat transfer correlations available in the literature are used to estimate the heat transfer coefficient distribution in each region, and the mean surface temperature of the unit cell is estimated via area-averaging. An analysis is performed to show that the model outputs are sensitive to the heat transfer coefficient correlations used as inputs, with the choice depending on the heat flux input and the expected operating regime. Experiments are performed to validate the area averaged thermal performance predictions. The model results are also compared against experimental data in the literature. The semi-empirical modeling approach developed in this work successfully represents the different heat transfer modes and transitions that occur during two-phase jet impingement. The location of transition to boiling predicted by the model is consistent with prior experimental observations of an inward-creeping boiling front with increasing heat flux. The predicted temperature difference between the surface and the jet inlet across all experimental comparisons has a mean absolute percentage error of 3.88%. The proposed modeling approach is demonstrated to be a practical tool in the development of two-phase jet array impingement devices, allowing for parametric exploration across the expansive design space. (C) 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.