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Completed TRL 2 (started at 2, targeting 3)
Thermal management is often a limitation in advancing many space technologies. As components become smaller, compact solutionsare required that can dissipate extreme heat fluxes with very high efficiency over a small area. The development of flow boiling inminichannels is one promising solution. However, there still exists a need for transformative improvement; addressing flow instabilitiespresent in minichannel flow boiling such as pressure oscillations, large pressure drops, and a suboptimal critical heat flux is criticalfor the future of thermal management. Many studies have examined the effects of different surface morphologies on flow boilingheat transfer, however, the femtosecond laser surface processing (FLSP) of metallic surfaces offers a unique avenue for experiments.FLSP offers many advantages compared to other surface functionalization methods, such as structure permanency, scalability, singlestep process, and versatility that extends to a wide range of metals. This functionalization method introduces self-organized microandnano-scale structures on the surface, and has produced significant heat transfer enhancement in minichannel flow boiling. Theproposed work aims to overcome impediments observed in flow boiling with a novel dual-channel flow boiling system that utilizesFLSP of metallic surfaces. This design incorporates a cold, counterflow water channel added to the top of the main flow boilingchannel, separated by a thin metal sheet. As water boils in the main channel, vapor produced will rise and contact the cold metalseparator where it will condense, thus reducing the accumulation of compressible vapor that causes many of the observed instabilities.The boiling and condensing surfaces will be functionalized using FLSP, and the laser fluence and pulse count will be varied to observethe effects of different surface morphologies on instability suppression and heat transfer improvement. The results of this work willhelp NASA create safer, more efficient, and more reliable thermal management systems.
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