Quantification of the water boiling heat transfer in micro-structures by image analysis

The heat transfer performance of a micro-vaporizer has been measured by conventional methods (using temperatures, flow rates, effective power input). The study was carried out for laminar flow in channels (5 mm×3 cm×200 μm) micro-structured with square obstacles to increase the specific area. The results show that high heat transfer coefficients (1300– 2500 W m⁻²/C⁻¹) can be reached in such a micro-structured channel. Image analysis was done to estimate the volume vapour fraction, which can be converted into the mass vapour fraction using a slip ratio and avoids the need for any temperature or electric power input measurements. The estimation of this slip ratio is discussed in this paper.