An experimental study of two phase flow and boiling heat transfer in bi-dispersed porous channels

The results of an experimental study of two-phase flow and boiling heat transfer in channels packed with sintered copper bi-dispersed porous media are presented. For comparison, the same channels were packed with sintered copper mono-dispersed porous media. Experiments were conducted using distilled water as the working fluid. The absolute permeabilities of the sintered copper mono- and bi-dispersed porous media were firstly determined by measuring pressure drops at different inlet velocities of the isothermal flow of subcooled water. Experiments were then carried out to characterize flow boiling of water through both mono- and bi-dispersed porous channels. The pressure drops under the boiling condition were also measured. The results indicated that the porous material has a highly effective two-phase heat sink, especially for bi-dispersed porous materials which have a lower flow resistance than that of the mono-dispersed porous materials having the same pore diameter as the micro-pore diameter of the bi-dispersed porous material.