Coupling dynamic thermal analysis and surface modification to enhance heat dissipation of R410A spray cooling for high-power electronics

With high critical heat flux (CHF) and heat transfer coefficient (HTC), spray cooling is considered as one of the most promising thermal management technologies for high-power electronic devices. To increase its cooling performance, a closed-loop experimental rig was constructed to study the effects of spray and system parameters on heat transfer enhancement by R410A. The best cooling performance can be achieved under optimal subcooling degree of 17 degrees C and nozzle diameter of 0.56 mm. When the compressor frequency reaches the upper limit of 90 Hz, maximum CHF and HTC on flat surface are 301.6 W/cm2 and 91.7 kW/(m2 & sdot;K). To further improve CHF, mechanism of heat transfer enhancement by square pin finned surface was revealed in terms of droplet splashing. With fin width of 0.5 mm and height of 3 mm, CHF as high as 522.1 W/cm2 and peak HTC of 407.0 kW/(m2 & sdot;K) are reached, while maintaining the cooling surface temperature lower than 55.6 degrees C. Compared to flat surface, CHF and HTC are enhanced by around 73.4% and 3.5 times, respectively. Based on the experimental data, CHF correlation applicable to pin finned surface was obtained with precision of +/- 12.4% by introducing fin height and width.

Automated summary

Spray cooling is a promising thermal management technology for high-power electronic devices due to its high critical heat flux and heat transfer coefficient. This study investigates the effects of spray and system parameters on heat transfer enhancement using R410A. The results show that the optimal subcooling degree and nozzle diameter can achieve the best cooling performance. Mechanism of heat transfer enhancement by square pin finned surface is revealed in terms of droplet splashing, which further improves the cooling performance.