Upstream Electrohydrodynamic Conduction Pumping for Flow Distribution Control of Parallel Microchannel Evaporators

Thermal boundary layer depletion in minichannels by electrohydrodynamic conduction pumping

Electrohydrodynamic (EHD) conduction pump is a new concept which has been recently explored. Net pumping is achieved by properly utilizing the heterocharge layers present in the vicinity of the electrodes. This paper presents an innovative electrode design which provides pressure head on the order of 600 Pa per an electrode pair operated at 20 kV with less than 0.08 W of electric power. An EHD conduction pump consisting of six pairs was designed and installed in the liquid passage of a monogroove heat pipe. The EHD conduction pump drastically increased the heat transport capacity of the heat pipe. Furthermore, the EHD conduction pump provided immediate recovery from the dryout condition.

This paper provides a summary of recent experimental work in electrohydrodynamic (EHD) conduction pumping of dielectric liquid, done by the authors and others in the Multi Scale Heat Transfer Laboratory at WPI. The primary objective of all experiments was to gain a fundamental understanding of interaction of flow fields and electrical fields in the presence and absence of phase change (liquid-vapor) and presence and absence of gravity. This fundamental research has led to development of potential applications in electrically-driven heat transfer enhancement. Meso- and micro-scale EHD conduction pumps were studied as mechanisms for flow generation in single- and two-phase heat transport systems. In addition, EHD conduction pumping was studied as a technique to augment pool boiling and liquid film boiling heat transfer. An analytical model was developed to characterize the influence of an electrical field on pool boiling critical heat flux. Most recently, two experiments were conducted on board a parabolic flight to study EHD conduction-driven liquid film boiling and micro-scale, single-phase flow in microgravity.

Heat pipes are well-known as simple and effective heat transport devices, utilizing two-phase flow and the capillary phenomenon to remove heat. However, the generation of capillary pressure requires a wicking structure and the overall heat transport capacity of the heat pipe is generally limited by the amount of capillary pressure generation that the wicking structure can achieve. Therefore, to increase the heat transport capacity, the capillary phenomenon must be either augmented or replaced by some other pumping technique. Electro-hydrodynamic (EHD) conduction pumping has been demonstrated as an effective method for pumping liquid films by using DC electric fields and a dielectric working fluid. Beyond increased pumping capacity, EHD conduction pumping offers other advantages over capillary pumping, such as active control of the pumping capacity via the intensity of the applied electric field. This experimental study demonstrates the prospects of a macro-scale two-phase heat transport device that is driven by EHD conduction pumping. Various liquid film thicknesses are considered. In each case, the performance of the EHD-driven heat transport device at various electric field intensities is compared to the capabilities of the same device under gravity alone. The effect of tilt on the device is also considered.

Effect of electrode arrangement on heat transfer enhancement by electrohydrodynamic conduction pumps in a rectangular channel

Liquid film flow boiling heat transfer driven by electrohydrodynamic (EHD) conduction pumping is experimentally studied on a surface with a novel metal-plated nanofiber-mat coating. The nanotextured surface is formed on a copper substrate covered by an electrospun polymer nanofiber mat, which is copper-plated as a postprocess. The mat has a thickness of about 30 μm and is immersed in saturated HCFC-123. The objective is to study electrowetting of the copper-plated nanofiber-enhanced surface via EHD conduction pumping mechanism for the entire liquid film flow boiling regime leading up to critical heat flux (CHF), and compare it to the bare surface without EHD-driven flow. The results show that with the combination of these two techniques, for a given superheat value, enhancement in heat flux and boiling heat transfer coefficient is as high as 555% compared to the bare surface. The results are quite promising for thermal management applications.

Heat transfer enhancement of backstep flow by means of EHD conduction pumping

The research in this paper extends previous liquid film flow boiling studies by including the effect of an additional electrohydrodynamic (EHD) force, namely the dielectrophoretic (DEP) force. Rather than using only EHD conduction pumping of the liquid film to electro-wet the heater surface, a localized non-uniform electric field above the heater surface is also used to generate a dielectrophoretic force for improved vapor bubble extraction during the nucleate boiling regime. The effect of liquid film height and applied potential are studied as a function of heater superheat and heat flux. The study considers the sole and combined effect of DEP with EHD conduction pumping. A brief analytical study is also used to estimate the expected dielectrophoretic force magnitude and explain the results. All of the above studies are also used to quantify the enhancement in heat transfer that can be achieved when heat transport systems are driven or augmented by these electrohydrodynamic phenomena. The results show remarkable enhancement of up to 1217% in heat flux and boiling heat transfer coefficient for a given superheat when both mechanisms are used simultaneously. The experimental data are important for applications in thermal management in terrestrial and micro-gravity conditions.

The paper presents the computer simulation results for a single section of electrohydrodynamic (EHD) conduction pump with and without taking into account the enhancement of the dissociation rate under the action of the strong electric field (the Wien effect). The computations were carried out on the basis of the complete set of EHD equations using commercial software package COMSOL Multiphysics. The behavior of EHD flow inside the pump was investigated for different ratios between positive and negative ion mobilities and the effect of the latter on the pumping efficiency was estimated. The features of the pump operation in the case of the Wien effect presence were investigated. It was shown that the enhancement of the dissociation rate can lead to the reversion of EHD flow direction with increasing voltage. Besides, the results for the present computer model were compared to those for the simplified one (based on the hydrostatic approach), and considerable discrepancy between the calculated pressure drops was revealed.

This paper extends previous liquid film flow boiling studies by including the effect of an additional electrohydrodynamic (EHD) force, namely, the dielectrophoretic (DEP) force. Rather than using only EHD conduction pumping of the liquid film to electro-wet the heater surface, a localized nonuniform electric field above the heater surface is established to generate a DEP force for improved vapor bubble extraction during the nucleate boiling regime. The effects of liquid film height and applied potential are studied as a function of heater superheat and heat flux. A brief analytical study is also used to estimate the expected DEP force magnitude to explain the results. All of the above studies are also used to quantify the enhancement in heat transfer that can be achieved when heat transport systems are driven or augmented by these two EHD mechanisms. The results show remarkable enhancement of up to 1217% in boiling heat transfer coefficient at a given superheat when both mechanisms are used simultaneously. The experimental data are important for applications in thermal management in terrestrial and space conditions.

The ongoing development of modern electronic systems leads to smaller, more powerful devices that are expected to operate in complex environments. Due to this, advanced thermal management technologies are required to meet the growing demand, especially in space where two-phase thermal systems are limited by the absence of gravity. Electrohydrodynamic (EHD) and dielectrophoretic (DEP) forces can be used to sustain stable liquid film flow boiling in the absence of gravity, which is otherwise impractical due to the lack of a required buoyancy force to initiate bubble departure. EHD is a phenomenon that is represented by the interaction between electric fields and fluid flow. The DEP force is characterized by its ability to act on liquid/vapor interfaces due to a high gradient of electrical permittivity. This study investigates the heat transfer characteristics of EHD conduction pumping driven liquid film flow boiling coupled with DEP vapor extraction during a microgravity parabolic flight and on the ground. The results of this study show that EHD and DEP raise the critical heat flux, lower heater surface temperature, and successfully sustain boiling in both microgravity and on the ground with low power consumption. Additionally, the heat transfer data captured in terrestrial, microgravity, and 1.8 g conditions compare well, indicating that combining these mechanisms can provide thermal enhancement independent of gravity. This study provides fundamental understanding of electrically driven liquid film flow boiling in the presence of phase change, paving the way toward developing next-generation heat transport devices for space and terrestrial applications.

Experimental study of electrohydrodynamic pumping through conduction phenomenon

The ongoing development of modern electronic systems leads to smaller, more powerful devices that are expected to operate in complex environments. Due to this, advanced thermal management technologies are required to meet the growing demand, especially in space where two-phase thermal systems are limited by the absence of gravity. Electrohydrodynamic (EHD) and dielectrophoretic (DEP) forces can be used to sustain stable liquid film boiling in micro-gravity, which is otherwise impractical due to the lack of a required buoyancy force to initiate bubble departure. EHD and DEP are phenomena that are represented by the interaction between electric fields and fluid flow. The DEP force especially is characterized by the unique ability to act on liquid/vapor interfaces due to a high gradient of electrical permittivity, allowing for two phase operation. This study investigates the effect of EHD conduction pumping coupled with DEP vapor extraction on liquid film flow boiling during a microgravity parabolic flight, and it characterizes the future two-phase microgravity heat transport technology prior to testing on the International Space Station (ISS). The results of this study show that EHD and DEP raise critical heat flux, lower heater surface temperature, and successfully sustain boiling in micro-gravity all at the cost of low power consumption. Additionally, the heat transfer data captured in terrestrial, microgravity, and 1.8 g conditions compare well, indicating that this technology can provide thermal enhancement independent of gravity. This study paves the way for future implementation of EHD-driven two-phase heat transport devices into space and aeronautical electronics applications.

Thermal performance of a two-pass microchannel evaporator

The ability of reentrant cavities to suppress flow boiling oscillations and instabilities in microchannels was experimentally studied. Suppression mechanisms were proposed and discussed with respect to various instability modes previously identified in microchannels. It was found that structured surfaces formed inside channel walls can assist mitigating the rapid bubble growth instability, which dominates many systems utilizing flow boiling in microchannels. This, in turn, delayed the parallel channel instability and the critical heat flux (CHF) condition. Experiments were conducted using three types of 200×253μm2 parallel microchannel devices: with reentrant cavity surface, with interconnected reentrant cavity surface, and with plain surface. The onset of nucleate boiling, CHF condition, and local temperature measurements were obtained and compared in order to study and identify flow boiling instability.