This research investigated heat transfer performance and flow characteristics
of three polydimethylsiloxane microchannels full of deionised water as a
working fluid. A single micropillar, horizontal micropillars, and vertical
micropillars along the flow direction were prepared on the microchannels
experimentally. Results show that the Nusselt number of microchannels with
two horizontal micropillars is 19% higher than that with a single
micropillar. The microchannel with two vertical micropillars has the Nusselt
number is 29% higher than that with a single micropillar, which shows the
best performance on the heat transfer enhancement. Visualization experiments
of the flow field were carried out to explore the enhanced mechanism of the
heat transfer for microchannels with various micropillar arrangements. When
the flow rate is 7 mLpm, the maximum velocities near the single cylinder
and the horizontal micro-column are 0.5 m/s and 0.52 m/s. Fluid velocity in
a region between two vertical micropillars reaches 0.72 m/s when the flow
rate is 7 mLpm. The fluid in the high-speed region is fully mixed around the
micropillar, which reduces the stagnation region area down-stream of the
vertical micropillar and enhances heat transfer.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.