Simplified Model for Prediction

Sambhaji T. Kadam
Mechanical Engineering Department,
Indian Institute of Technology Indore,
Madhya Pradesh 453446, India
Kuldeep Baghel
Mechanical Engineering Department,
Indian Institute of Technology Indore,
Madhya Pradesh 453446, India
Ritunesh Kumar1
Mechanical Engineering Department,
Indian Institute of Technology Indore,
Madhya Pradesh 453446, India
e-mail: ritunesh@iiti.ac.in
of Bubble Growth at Nucleation
Site in Microchannels
Formation of the first bubble at nucleation site is an inception of the two phase flow in
pool boiling and flow boiling. Bubble dynamics (bubble nucleation, growth, and depar-
ture) plays an important role in heat transfer and pressure drop characteristics during
two phase flow in microchannels. In this paper, a simplified model has been developed
for predicting bubble growth rate at nucleation cavity in microchannel. It is assumed that
heat supplied at nucleation site is divided between the liquid phase and the vapor phase
as per instantaneous void fraction value. The energy consumed by the vapor phase is uti-
lized in bubble growth and overcoming resistive effects; surface tension, inertia, shear,
gravity, and change in momentum due to evaporation. Proposed model shows a good
agreement with available experimental works. In addition, the bubble waiting time phe-
nomenon for flow boiling is also addressed using proposed model. Waiting time predicted
by the model is also close to that obtained from experimental data.
[DOI: 10.1115/1.4026609]

Keywords: bubble growth, flow boiling, microchannels, nucleation site, waiting time

Introduction detailed review of research work on microchannel heat sink is

available in Refs. [7,1416].
In the recent years, two phase flow in microchannels has
Bubble diameter plays an important role in heat transfer and
grabbed major attention of the researchers due to its rapidly
pressure drop characteristics of microchannels. Bubble nucleation
increasing application in diversified fields, i.e., microelectronics
takes place at nucleation sites. Basically, nucleation site is a small
[1,2], advanced military avionics [3], laser mirror [4], turbine
size cavity, where the phase change process initiates. The phe-
blades, hybrid vehicle, hydrogen storage, refrigeration cooling,
nomenon of bubble formation at nucleation site was first proposed
thermal control in microgravity, and capillary pump loops [5].
by Hsu [17]. As per his theory, bubble inception is possible only
Microchannels are capable of removing heat at very high rates
if minimum surrounding temperature around nucleation site being
from these devices, thus facilitating their performance level and
at least equal to saturation temperature of the liquid corresponding
improving overall life of the system. Combined effect of small hy-
to that pressure. Mukherjee et al. [18] further concluded that
draulic diameter of channel and latent heat of evaporation during
bubble formation can also take place, if flowing fluid is mixture of
flow boiling are responsible for high heat removal rate from
liquid and gas in addition to the condition proposed by Hsu [17].
microchannels. In order to overcome the challenging task of high
Various authors had proposed quadratic equation for finding
heat flux removal from small area, Tuckerman and Pease [6] had
the nucleation cavity radius, solution of these equations give
developed microchannel heat sink to remove heat flux upto
minimum rc,min and maximum rc,max cavity radius. Hsu [17],
790 W/cm2. Their study is considered as a milestone in the field
Davis and Anderson [19], and Kandlikar and Spiesman [20] have
of microchannels and it had influenced drastically the research
proposed the relation for cavity radius for subcooled boiling based
activities carried out in the last two decade pertaining to heat
on different bubble height. Liu et al. [21] have developed relation
sinks. Further, Kandlikar [7] proposed that the use of enhanced
for cavity radius for saturated flow boiling in microchannels.
microchannel geometry may provide heat dissipation rate upto
At heated surface number of cavities are present, but nucleation
103 W/cm2. Revolution in the microchannel fabrication technol-
takes place only if cavity radius obeys following criteria:
ogy (lithography, laser exposure, electroplating, and molding [8])
rc,min < rc < rc,max. Such cavities are called as active nucleation
has allowed researchers to fabricate novel microchannel design
sites.
of required shape and size. Kosar et al. [9] fabricated microchan-
When bubble nucleates at the nucleation cavity, it takes time to
nels with re-entrant cavity, Lu and Pan [10] created expanding
grow. Basu et al. [22,23] and Yeoh et al. [24] defined growth time
microchannels, Sui et al. [11] developed wavy microchannels,
(tg) and waiting time (tw, reoccurrence time of bubble) for flow
Megahed [12] manufactured microchannels with cross linking and
boiling. The information of waiting time and growth time can be
Balasubramanian et al. [13] fabricated diverging microchannels
utilized to predict the bubble departure frequency from each
with artificial nucleation sites for improving heat transfer charac-
nucleation site.
teristics of microchannels. Last few years have witnessed the
Bubble grows under the influence of various forces since its
surge in research activities on boiling in microchannels and these
inception until final departure. These forces play vital role in bub-
researches are expected to minimize main limitations, i.e., pres-
ble dynamics. Helden et al. [25] considered lift, surface tension,
sure and temperature fluctuation, vapor locking, flow reversal,
buoyancy, expansion due to pressure difference, drag and temper-
low critical heat flux (CHF) of microchannels gradually. The
ature induced drag force in analysis of bubble detachment from
artificial nucleation site along vertical wall of square channel.
1
Corresponding author. Zeng et al. [26] considered surface tension, drag force in flow
Contributed by the Heat Transfer Division of ASME for publication in the
JOURNAL OF HEAT TRANSFER. Manuscript received June 20, 2013; final manuscript
direction, drag force due to unstable growth, shear, buoyancy,
received January 24, 2014; published online March 11, 2014. Assoc. Editor: Giulio hydrodynamic pressure, and contact pressure force for analyzing
Lorenzini. the bubble departure diameter during flow boiling in horizontal

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 square channel and Yeoh and Tu [27] considered same forces
for analyzing the bubble departure diameter during flow boiling
in vertical annular channel. Qu and Mudawar [28] had acknowl-
edged drag and surface tension force (neglecting effect of buoy-
ancy force) for the analysis of bubble departure during flow
boiling in horizontal microchannels. Kandlikar [29] introduced an
evaporation momentum force for analysis of the CHF characteris-
tics in pool boiling and applied it successfully for CHF analysis in
microchannels [30]. Kandlikar [31,32] considered inertia, drag,
surface tension, shear, gravity, and evaporation momentum force
for the scale effect on flow boiling heat transfer in microchannels.
Many researchers have carried out detailed numerical analysis
of the bubble growth for studying boiling mechanism in micro-
channels. Mukherjee and Kandlikar [33] simulated a vapor bubble
growth in microchannel. They had observed that bubble grows
linearly till it fills the microchannel cross section, afterward it
expands rapidly due to evaporation of the liquid film trapped
between wall and the vapor bubble [34]. They further concluded
that bubble growth rate increases with increase in degree of super-
heat and decreases with increase in mass flux. Mukherjee et al.
[18] carried out numerical analysis of the bubble growth and its
effect on heat transfer in microchannels of cross section
(200 lm  200 lm). They observed that the wall superheat has
dominating effect on bubble growth than the Reynolds number.
Zhuan and Wang [35] carried out numerical study of the vapor
bubble growth at nucleation site in microchannel. They concluded
that in early stages bubble growth is dominated by the surface ten-
sion force and in later stages bubble growth is controlled by the
heat supplied. Wang et al. [36] presented hybrid methodology
(coupling microresolution particle image velocimetry and three-
dimensional iterative numerical simulation) that can be used for
reconstructing three-dimensional bubble geometry and finding
associated three-dimensional velocity field around the bubble dur-
ing growth at nucleation site. Gedupudi et al. [37] addressed flow
instabilities and uneven distribution associated with parallel
microchannels. They developed one-dimensional model for par-
tially and fully confined bubble growth in a single microchannel
to study the effect of upstream compressibility due to subcooled
boiling in the preheater or trapped noncondensable gas as associ-
ated with parallel microchannels. Majority of these numerical
studies had been carried out for the bubble that is already departed
from nucleation cavity. Moreover, detailed numerical bubble
growth study is cumbersome and time consuming.
Bubble dynamics in homogeneous superheated bulk medium is
governed by the well-known Rayleigh equation and its extended
form [3840]. Fu and Pan [41] had developed an elegant numeri-
cal model for mixing process of sulfuric acid and sodium bicar-
bonate in microchannel utilizing modified Rayleigh equation.
However, Rayleigh equation predicts larger bubble growth rate
than experimental value for heterogeneous bubble growth in
microchannels [42,43]. It was attributed to the geometric con-
straint in transverse direction of channel wall. There is a clear
need to develop a simplified model for prediction of the bubble
growth at nucleation site in microchannel. Hence, in present paper
effort has been made in this direction. Eventually, the outcome of
the current study can be utilized to predict heat transfer and pres-
sure drop characteristics in microchannel.
Model
As soon as fluid neighboring the nucleation site acquires
saturation temperature corresponding to nearby pressure, bubble
nucleation starts. Bubble starts growing at the nucleation site and
after some time bubble departs from it. Bubble diameter continu-
ously increases from inception to departure as the time progresses.
Figure 1 shows growing bubble at the nucleation site. The follow-
ing assumptions are made in the present model:
(1) Nucleation site is assumed in form of an inverted cone
shape.
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Fig. 1 Energy distribution at nucleation cavity
(2) The bubble appears in the form of truncated sphere at
nucleation site with contact angle (t tFV 0; hincep
90 deg).
(3) Thermal properties do not change with time.
(4) Bubble growth is not affected by the heat supplied in neigh-
boring region.
(5) Heat supplied at the nucleation site is divided between
liquid phase and vapor phase as per instantaneous void
fraction value.
(6) Condensation on bubble surface is assumed to be
negligible.
(7) No heat losses occur between the test section and
atmosphere.
As it is assumed that heat supplied at the nucleation site is
divided between liquid phase and vapor phase as per instantane-
ous void fraction value. Thus, heat supplied at nucleation cavity
can be given by the following equation:
Heat supplied at the nucleation cavity q00 1  ei Ac q00 ei Ac
(1)
where the first term represents heat carried away by the liquid
phase and the second term indicates heat taken away by the vapor
phase. Heat taken away by the vapor phase is utilized in bubble
growth (Ebubble) and overcoming resistive effects due to surface
tension (Ersf), inertia (Eri), shear (Ersh), gravity (Erg) and change
in momentum due to evaporation effects (Erm). The following
equation shows the energy balance equation for the vapor phase:
q00 ei  Ac Ebubble Ersf Eri Ersh Erg Erm (2)
The void fraction is an important parameter associated with the
two phase flow. It had been extensively used in empirical models
for prediction of the flow pattern transition, heat transfer and pres-
sure drop characteristics of microchannels. The void fraction can
be specified in terms of various geometric definitions: local,
chordal, cross-sectional, and volumetric void fraction [44]. The
cross-sectional void fraction is used in current study as given by
the following equation:
cross section of channel accupied by the vapor bubble
ei
cross section of channel
Ai;c=s
(3)
Ach
Experimentally the cross-sectional void fraction can be measured
either directly by optical method or by an indirect method such as
Transactions of the ASME
 through measurement of electrical capacitance of the conducting G Ai;s dr
liquid phase [45]. Ersh Fsh  growthrate l   (10)
2ql r 2 dt

Energy Utilization in Vapor Bubble. In this section, energy
required for bubble growth and consumed in overcoming other
resistive effects are discussed.
(a) Energy required for the bubble growth (Ebubble):
Evaporation is an endothermic phase change process in
which significant amount of heat supplied to the vapor
phase is consumed during bubble growth period. Due to
evaporation at the interface, vapor is added into the bubble,
thus bubble volume continuously increases at the nuclea-
tion site since inception until its departure. The energy
required for evaporation at the liquidvapor interface is
given by the following equation:
dVi
Ebubble qv hfg (4)
dt
(e) Energy required to overcome the gravity (buoyancy) effect
(Erg):
The effect of gravity (buoyancy) is due to density differ-
ence between liquid and vapor phase. Energy required to
overcome the gravity (buoyancy) effect is given by the fol-
lowing equation:
dVi
Erg gql  qv  a (11)
dt
(f) Energy required to overcome the force due change in evap-
oration momentum (Erm):
Evaporation at the interface results in a force due to change
in momentum as vapor leaves the interface [2932]. The
force due change in momentum due to evaporation is given
by the following equation:

(b) Energy required to overcome the surface tension effect at q00 q00
Fm  Ai;s  (12)
interface (Ersf): hfg hfg qv
Surface free energy at the interface continuously increases
with time due to increase in surface area of the bubble dur-
ing growth period. Surface tension can be expressed in Thus, energy required to overcome this effect is computed by
terms of the Gibbs energy and surface area utilizing the multiplying the force due to change in evaporation momentum
following equation [46,47]: with bubble growth rate as shown in the following equation:

q00 q00 dr
dG Erm  Ai;s   (13)
r (5) hfg hfg qv dt
dAi;s
The instantaneous volume (Vi), surface area (Ai,s), cross-
Rearranging the above equation gives the surface energy sectional area (Ai,c/s), and centroid (a) of the bubble are derived in
required to maintain the interface. It is shown in final form terms of contact angle and bubble radius. The shape of the bubble
by the following equation: is assumed as a truncated sphere as shown in Fig. 2. Instantaneous
volume, surface area, and cross-sectional area of the bubble are
dAi;s given by Eqs. (14), (15), and (16), respectively.
Ersf r (6)
dt
p 3
Vi r a (14)
(c) Energy required to overcome the inertia effect (Eri): 3
Inertia force acting over the bubble is given by the follow-
Ai;s p  r 2  b (15)
ing equation [31,32,48]:
1
Ai;c=s  r2 c (16)
G2 2
Fi Ai;c=s (7)
ql
where, a, c, and b are given by Eq. (17)(19).
Energy required to overcome the inertia effect is calculated h n oi
by multiplying the inertia force with bubble growth rate as a 4  0:5 31  cos h sin2 h 1  cos h3 (17)
shown in the following equation:
h n oi
2
b 4  sin2 h 1  cos h2 (18)
: dr G dr
Eri Fi  growth rate ql Ai;c=s v2 Ai;c=s (8)  
dt ql dt 2ph
c 2p  sin 2h (19)
180
(d) Energy required to overcome the shear effect (Ersh):
Flowing fluid exerts the shear force on the bubble. Only
half portion of vapor bubble is directly exposed to the
flowing fluid and it experiences the shear force. Effect of
the shear force on downstream direction is neglected due
to the formation of eddies, which creates flow separation
in downward direction. The shear force acting over the
bubble is given by the following equation [31,32]:

G Ai;s
Fsh l  (9)
2ql r 2

Energy required to overcome the shear effect is calculated

by multiplying the shear force with bubble growth rate as
shown in the following equation: Fig. 2 Diagram of truncated bubble and centroid of the bubble

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 The location of the centroid of the bubble is shown in Fig. 2 at
point o. The distance between centroid of the bubble and plate
is given by the following equation:
2   3
w
4 sin3  
6 2 w 7
a y  x r6 7
43w  sin w  sin 90  2 5 r/ (20)

where w and / are given by Eq. (21) and (22).

w 2180  h (21)
2   3
w
4sin3  
6 2 w 7
/6
43w  sin w  sin 90  2 5
7 (22)

Substituting Eq. (3), (4), (6), (8), (10), (11), (13)(16) into the
Eq. (2), the bubble growth rate is given by the following equation:
"  00 2 # Fig. 3 Comparison of present model with Liui et al. [21]
Ac c 2 dr G2 q pb
q00 r r2 p  a  qv hfg c
Ach 2 dt 2ql hfg qv empirical relation (Eq. (26)) has been developed in order to find
  out contact angle variation during the bubble growth in terms of
dr G
r r  2  p  b l pb surface tension (r) and time (t), following experimental work of
dt 4  ql
  Ref. [21].
dr pa/
r3 gql  qv (23) h hincep 13:794 ln t  2:31 ln r (26)
dt 2
where h is in deg, t is in ms, and r is in N/m.
Integrating the above equation, we get general bubble growth
equation in terms of heat supplied, mass flux, thermal properties
of the flowing fluid, and channel geometry as follows: Result
  Few experimental works are available in open literature on bub-
Ac c pa/ ble growth at the nucleation site for microchannels [21,43,52,53].
q00 t gql  qv  r2
Ach 2 2 Figure 3 shows comparison of the proposed model with Liu et al.
  [21] experimental and Zhuan and Wang [35] numerical work.
lG
r  2  p  b p  b lnr Results show good agreement between bubble diameter predicted
4  ql by the model and experimental data. The mean absolute percent-
"  00 2 #
G2 c q pb age error (MAPE) of Zhuan and Wang [35] numerical study is
p  a  qv hfg  r C (24) around 7%, whereas MAPE of current model is around 14%.
ql 2 hfg qv
In order to find out the influence of energy consumed in bubble
growth and different resistive effects on growth process, their var-
Bubble growth at nucleation site is finally calculated by solving iations during entire bubble growth period since inception until
Eq. (24) at given operating conditions (G, q00 ), channel geometry departure need to be investigated. Figure 4 shows variations of the
(Ach), and thermal properties of working fluid (hfg, l, ql, qv)
at different time intervals (from experimental observations) by
Secant method [49].
Integration constant (C) is calculated by applying boundary
condition; t tFV 0; r rc rmin and given by Eq. (25). As the
bubble becomes visible at nucleation site, when it reaches up to
cavity mouth, the minimum visible bubble radius is assumed as
nucleation cavity radius and is given by the following equation:
 
pa/ 2
C  gql  qv   rmin
2
 
l  Gp  b
 2p  q  b  lnrmin
q 4
" l  00 2 #
G2 c q pb
 p  a  qv hfg  rmin (25)
ql 2 hfg qv

Contact angle at the time of bubble inception is assumed as

(hincep 90) follows [21,50]. During the process of bubble growth
at nucleation cavity, contact angle decreases with increase in bub-
ble radius. However, no effort has been made in previous works
relating variation of the contact angle during the bubble growth Fig. 4 Variation of energy utilization in various effects during
with fluid property [51] and the time lapsed after inception. An bubble growth

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 Fig. 6 Comparison of present model with Li et al. [52]

Fig. 5 (a), (b) Comparison of present model with Lee et al. [43]

Fig. 7 Comparison of present model with Meder [53]

energy consumed in growing bubble and resistive effects during
bubble growth period. Evaporation at an interface (Ebubble) con-
sumes largest proportionate of energy [54] and remaining energy
is utilized in resistive effects, i.e., surface tension, inertia, shear,
gravity (buoyancy), and change in momentum due to evaporation.
Among resistive effects, the surface tension is most detrimental to
bubble growth. Moreover, as expected, the magnitude of all these
resistive effects increases during bubble growth period.
The present model is also compared with experimental work
of Refs. [43,52,53]. Figures 57 show the results of comparative
analysis between current model and experimental results of
Refs. [43,52,53], respectively.
MAPE between value predicted by the model and experimental
data are calculated by the following equation:
Fig. 8 Stages of bubble nucleation process
N 
X 

rmeas  rpred 
 r 
1 meas over predicts in certain cases and also under predicts in certain
MAPE%  100 (27)
N cases. Over prediction can be attributed to associated heat losses
occurring from the test section and possible condensation at the
Table 1 gives summary of the MAPE between predicted data top portion of vapor bubble during subcooled boiling [22], which
and the experimental data at different heat flux and mass flux con- suppresses actual size of vapor bubble. Whereas, under prediction
ditions. From Table 1, it can be observed that the current model may be due to the merging of small vapor bubbles generated in

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 Table 1 Summary of MAPE between experimental data and Table 2 Summary of waiting time calculation
present model
Waiting Time
G q00 MAPE
Author (kg/m2s) (kW/m2) % Remark G q00 Model Experimental
Author (kg/m2s) (kW/m2) ms ms
Liu et al. [21] 626 157.8 14 Under prediction
Li et al. [52] 105 121 0.1 Negligible Liu et al. [21] 626 157.8 161.7 151.3
269 12.3 25.8 Underprediction Li et al. [52] 105 121 4.5 3.83
269 30.1 10.8 Overprediction 269 12.3 88 49
269 65.4 5.5 Negligible 269 30.1 32.1 41.54
555 70.6 23 Overprediction 269 65.4 9.21 6.17
Lee et al. [43] 170 1.47 20.8 Underprediction 555 70.6 14.6 22.28
170 57.6 0.7 Negligible Lee et al. [43] 170 1.47 132 64.3
170 196 3.5 Negligible 170 57.6 5 5.23
341 6.94 0.6 Negligible 170 196 2 2.6
477 15.7 24.3 Underprediction 341 6.94 57.6 60.87
Meder [53] 259.8 46.7 25 Underprediction 477 15.7 52.84 29.73
259.8 49.4 16.4 Overprediction Meder [53] 259.8 46.7 58.1 15.95
364.6 58.8 14.7 Underprediction 259.8 49.4 37.6 35.7
415.9 66.8 1.1 Negligible 364.6 58.8 29.9 43
415.9 66.8 27.4 28.29

close neighborhood of the bubble under consideration. In certain

observations MAPE is greater than 20%. This may be due to pres-
ence of unsteady growth force, which arises due to fluctuation in
local flow field [55].
From Table 1, it is also observed that at constant heat flux, bub-
ble growth rate decreases with increase in mass flux. As mass flux
increases at constant heat flux, energy consumed in overcoming
the inertia and the shear resistive effects also increase. Hence,
bubble grows slowly and associated waiting time would increases.
On the other hand bubble growth increases with increase in heat
flux at constant mass flux and associated waiting time would
reduce. This may be accredited to the enhancement in evaporation
rate at high heat flux.
Waiting Time
Basu et al. [22,23] defined waiting time as the time period
between bubble departure and next bubble inception at a given
nucleation site (small circular cavity). Shape and size of the nucle-
ation cavity is dependent on surface roughness, which eventually
depends on the type of manufacturing process used for fabrication
purpose. In actual, nucleation site may be approximated as
inverted cone as reported by Liu et al. [21], Lee et al. [42], Fazel
and Shafaee [56], Li and Cheng [57], and Kandlikar [58]. Very
first point where the bubble can incept in case temperature reaches
to the saturation temperature is apex of the inverted cone, Fig. 9.
Thus, vapor bubble is more likely to initiate at the apex of cavity
(r 0) and grows inside the cavity [59]. When bubble reaches at
the cavity mouth (r rmin), it can be visualized through high
speed photography. To obtain waiting time, it is assumed that
bubble grows inside the cavity in similar manner as it grows out-
side the cavity. Thus, slope of the bubble growth line will remain
constant even in the period since inception to the first visualiza-
tion at a given nucleation site and is given by the following
equation:

 Ac c
q00
dr Ach 2
"  00 2 #     (28)
dt rrmin G2 q pb G 1 pa/
p  a  qv hfg c r  2  p  b l pb gql  qv  rmin
2ql hfg qv 4  ql rmin 2

This slope is applied between conditions; (1) t 0; r 0, and (2) Conclusion

t tw; r rmin. Eventually, the waiting time can be obtained by
the following equation:
rmin
tw  (29)
dr
dt rrmin
Experimental waiting time is obtained by extrapolating experi-
mental data up to r 0. Table 2 shows the summery of waiting
time calculated through experimental data and by current pro-
posed model. From Table 2, it is validated that at constant heat
flux, waiting time value increases with increase in mass flux.
Whereas, waiting time value decreases with increase in heat flux.
Expected reason for these is already explained in previous section.
Simplified mathematical model has been developed to predict
the bubble growth at nucleation site following assumption that
heat supplied at the nucleation site is divided between liquid phase
and vapor phase as per instantaneous void fraction value. Heat
consumed by the vapor phase is utilized in overcoming resistive
effects and growth of vapor bubble. New empirical relation is
developed to obtain contact angle in terms of time and surface ten-
sion during the growth period. It is found that bubble growth is
influenced by heat flux, mass flux, thermophysical properties of
the liquid, and channel geometry. Presented model shows good
agreement with available experimental results. Waiting time
phenomena is discussed and current model is utilized to predict
waiting time. Predicted waiting time is also found close to experi-
mental waiting time. It is observed that the waiting time increases

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 with increase in mass flux and decreases with increase in heat [9] Kosar, A., Kuo, C. J., and Peles, Y., 2005, Boiling Heat Transfer in Rectangu-
flux. lar Microchannels With Reentrant Cavities, Int. J. Heat Mass Transfer, 48, pp.
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[10] Lu, C. T., and Pan, C., 2011, Convective Boiling in a Parallel Microchannel
Acknowledgement Heat Sink With a Diverging Cross Section and Artificial Nucleation Sites,
Exp. Therm. Fluid Sci., 35, pp. 810815.
The authors would like to thank Dr. Anand Parkash and Dr. [11] Sui, Y., Lee, P. S., and Teo, C. J., 2011, An Experimental Study of Flow Fric-
Antony Vijesh of Mathematics Department, IIT Indore, India, for tion and Heat Transfer in Wavy Microchannels With Rectangular Cross
Section, Int. J. Therm. Sci., 50, pp. 24732482.
the helpful discussion on this topic. [12] Megahed, A., 2011, Experimental Investigation Flow Boiling Characteristics
in a Cross-Linked Microchannel Heat Sink, Int. J. Multiphase Flow, 37, pp.
380393.
Nomenclature [13] Balasubramanian, K., Lee, P. S., Jin, L. W., Chou, S. K., Teo, C. J., and Gao,
S., 2011, Experimental Investigations of Flow Boiling Heat Transfer and Pres-
A area (m2) sure Drop in Straight and Expanding MicrochannelsA Comparative Study,
a bubble centroid (m) Int. J. Therm. Sci., 50, pp. 24132421.
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389407.
F force (N) [15] Kandlikar, S. G., 2012, History, Advances and Challenges in Liquid Flow and
g acceleration due to gravity (m2/s) Flow Boiling Heat Transfer in Microchannels: A Critical Review, ASME J.
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