Fluid Flow, Heat Transfer and Boiling in Micro-Channels

The subject of the book is uid dynamics and heat transfer in micro-channels. This problem is important for understanding the complex phenomena associated with single- and two-phase ows in heated micro-channels. The challenge posed by high heat uxes in electronic chips makes thermal management a key factor in the development of these systems. Cooling of mic- electronic components by new cooling technologies, as well as improvement of the existing ones, is becoming a necessity as the power dissipation levels of integrated circuits increases and their sizes decrease. Miniature heat sinks with liquid ows in silicon wafers could signi cantly improve the performance and reliability of se- conductor devices. The improvements are made by increasing the effective thermal conductivity, by reducing the temperature gradient across the wafer, by reducing the maximum wafer temperature, and also by reducing the number and intensity of localized hot spots. A possible way to enhance heat transfer in systems with high power density is to change the phase in the micro-channels embedded in the device. This has motivated a number of theoretical and experimental investigations covering various aspects of heat transfer in micro-channel heat sinks with phase change. The ow and heat transfer in heated micro-channels are accompanied by a n- ber of thermohydrodynamic processes, such as liquid heating and vaporization, bo- ing, formation of two-phase mixtures with a very complicated inner structure, etc., which affect signi cantly the hydrodynamic and thermal characteristics of the co- ing systems.