REU Supplement: Mesoscale Heat Exchangers

该项目是一项研究传热过程中， 非常小的渠道，目标是高度发展 紧凑型高性能热交换器（传热率 在105 W/m2 K的量级上是可行的）。 微制造 微电子工业中发展起来的技术 小尺寸，高精度通道的制造， 硅或其它合适的材料。 拟议的尺寸 的通道的范围从几微米到几分之一， 宽度和深度都只有一毫米 建议的长度 通道将被限制在大约1-2厘米， 研究的初始阶段。 大量通道 可以容纳在极小的体积中。 平面 光刻技术提供了一种制造 非常复杂的鳍片和延伸的表面， 优化传热过程。 建议的热量 热交换器应该能够提供有效的热量 两种流体之间或从单一流体到 周围的 所提出的热交换器的其它优点， 除了效率，它们的质量很小， 工作液体的库存，小的支撑结构，低 成本和无振动特性。 这种类型的热 热交换器代表一类热元件， 先前在维度领域的研究， 在这里考虑，这表明，一个基本的调查， 在这种中尺度范围内热交换是理想的， 纯粹的科学观点。 拟议的研究是 跨学科的性质，因为它同时解决 热传递、材料、用于监测 传热过程和微加工问题。

This project is an investigation of heat transfer processes in very small channels with the goal of developing highly compact, high performance heat exchangers (heat transfer rates on the order of 105W/m2K, are feasible). Microfabrication techniques developed in the micro-electronic industry permit the fabrication of small size, high precision channels in silicon or other suitable materials. The proposed dimensions of the channels will range from a few microns to fractions of a millimeter in width and depth. The proposed lengths of the channel will be restricted to approximately 1-2 centimeters in the initial stages of the study. Large numbers of channels can be accommodated in extremely small volumes. Planar photolithographic technology provides a method for fabricating extremely complicated fins and extended surfaces suited to optimizing the heat transfer process. The proposed heat exchangers should be able to provide efficient heat transmission between two fluids or from a single fluid to the ambient. Other advantages of the proposed heat exchangers, aside from efficiency, are their very small mass, low inventory of working liquids, small supporting structures, low cost, and vibration-free character. This type of heat exchanger represents a class of thermal elements that have not been previously studied in the dimensional regime being considered here, suggesting that a fundamental inquiry into heat exchange in this mesoscale regime is desirable from a purely scientific viewpoint. The proposed research is interdisciplinary in nature as it addresses simultaneously heat transfer, materials, sensor elements for monitoring the heat transfer processes, and microfabrication issues.