Thermal Characterization of Two-Phase Heat Transfer in Porous Materials: An Experimentally Confirmed Method in Non-Dimensionalized Form

Abstract

Investigations of a relatively new heat transfer scheme, were conducted. This system combines two-phase heat transfer with forced flow through porous materials and has the ability to absorb high heat fluxes at low and extremely uniform surface temperatures. To predict the heat transfer attributes of the system, a semi-analytical model was developed using the conservation equations of mass, momentum and energy along with the apparent physical properties of the composite material. Verification of the analytical model is demonstrated through experimental confirmation. The resulting model predicts the liquid vapor interface and surface temperature profile for a channel to which a constant heat flux is applied to within ±5 % of the channel width and ±0.1 °C. In addition, a non-dimensionalized method for predicting the heat transfer attributes of these systems was developed.