Flow boiling in micro-scale channels – Synthesized literature review

This paper presents a synthesized review on the recent literature concerning micro-scale flow boiling. The topics covered are macro- to micro-scale transition, flow patterns, pressure drop, heat transfer coefficient, critical heat flux, superficial void fraction and liquid entrainment. The analyses revealed some characteristics common to micro-scale two-phase flow, i.e. absence of stratified flow, predominance of annular flow over all saturated region, uniform liquid film thickness during horizontal flows, reduced liquid entrainment, high heat transfer coefficients and pressure drops. Despite the importance of liquid entrainment and void fraction in predictive methods, there is a lack of experimental results for these parameters in the micro-scale literature. Important accomplishments concerning the investigation of micro-scale flow boiling have been obtained over the last two decades, but some aspects, including local physical mechanisms related to heat transfer, onset of dryout and flow boiling instabilities still remain unclear.