EXPERIMENTAL INVESTIGATION OF TAYLOR AND INTERMITTENT SLUG- ANNULAR/ANNULAR FLOW IN MICROCHANNELS

High-speed visualization of adiabatic flow and heat transfer rate determination for constant wall heat flux conditions were performed to study the flow and heat transfer behavior of non-boiling, gas-liquid two-phase vertical upward flow in a 2.00 mm-diameter tube. Liquids of different volatilities, including water, ethylene glycol, and hexadecane, were employed to investigate the roles of convective heat transfer and evaporation for a wide range of flow conditions encompassing Taylor, slug-annular, and annular flow regimes. The heat transfer rate is found to depend strongly on the flow regime. Significant evaporative cooling was observed for the volatile system at high gas flow rates. A heat transfer enhancement up to fivefold over that for the liquid-only flow was observed in the annular flow regime.