Effects of Wettability on the Flow Boiling Heat Transfer Enhancement

In this paper, we have investigated the role of surface wettability during subcooled flow boiling in a microchannel heat sink. The Cahn–Hilliard phase field method is used to numerically simulate the bubble nucleation from a single artificial cavity inside a microchannel heat sink. The pressure and velocity distribution inside the microchannel is studied at different time levels. Further, simulations have been performed by varying the surface wettability of the heater surface to investigate the role of surface wettability in flow boiling. The role of bubble dynamics and heat transfer characteristics have been studied for different wettabilities of the heating surface. The bubble departure time increases with the decrease in the wettability of the heater surface.