Review on high heat flux flow boiling of refrigerants and water for electronics cooling

Heat removal from high heat flux devices such as computer chips, laser diodes, and other electronic devices and components has been a significant issue with the advances in micro- and nanofabrication capabilities. High heat fluxes suggest phase-change heat transfer modes including flow boiling to accomplish effective cooling of miniature devices. In contrast to pool boiling, flow boiling heat transfer is a more applied mode of heat transfer and has been most widely used in high heat flux cooling systems. There are two general approaches for improving flow boiling heat transfer: active and passive methods. In this review, all of the active and passive methods are covered, and almost all of the literature related to high heat flux is included. The other useful parts of this review are the tables, where almost all of the related literature, including studies on various working fluids (particularly refrigerants), channel sizes, and improvement methods to achieve high heat flux conditions are summarized so that scientists and engineers working in the field could greatly benefit from them. At the end, the review presents important developments in the field broad conclusion as well as suggestions and future research directions for future studies.