Experiments were performed to assess the impact coating silicon and copper substrates with nanotubes (CNTs) have on pool boiling performance. Different CNT array densities and area coverages were tested on 1.27 Â 1.27 mm 2 samples in FC-72. The CNT preparation techniques used provided strong adherence of CNTs to both substrate materials. Very small contact angle enabled deep penetration of FC-72 liquid inside surface cavities of smooth uncoated silicon surfaces, requiring unusually high surface superheat to initiate boiling. Fully coating the substrate surface with CNTs was highly effective at reducing the incipience superheat and greatly enhancing both the nucleate boiling heat transfer coefficient and critical heat flux (CHF). Efforts to further improve boiling performance by manipulating CNT area coverage of the substrate surface proved ineffective; best results were consistently realized with full surface coverage. Greater enhancement was achieved on silicon than on copper since, compared to uncoated copper surfaces, the uncoated silicon surfaces were very smooth and void of any sizeable nucleation sites to start with. This study is concluded with detailed metrics to assess the enhancement potential of the different CNT array densities and area coverages tested.
Progress in integrated circuit technology has caused device density and power dissipation to increase, resulting in significant cooling challenges. Pool boiling is an attractive cooling option because of its unique combination of passive fluid circulation and high heat flux capability. Having no mechanical pumps, pool boiling hardware is less complex, easier to seal, and free of pump-induced fluid pulsations that are present with many alternative approaches. One of the main obstacles for improvements in pool boiling technology is the limiting factor of critical heat flux (CHF), which limits cooling capacity. The present experimental work considers the introduction of carbon nanotube (CNT) arrays on the chip surface to delay CHF and to enhance boiling heat transfer. Pool boiling curves for a smooth silicon surface and a silicon surface coated with CNTs were obtained. Tests were conducted in which power was input in 1 W increments to the respective silicon surfaces immersed in FC-72 fluid. These experiments reveal significant boiling enhancement. Testing reveals a measured CHF of approximately 15 W/cm2 for a CNT-coated silicon wafer and a CHF of approximately 10 W/cm2 for bare silicon wafers. Further, superheat at fully developed boiling is reduced on CNT-coated surfaces by up to 60%, and effective heat transfer coefficients are enhanced by approximately 400% by the presence of CNTs.
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