随机粗糙微通道内液-液两相流动和传热特性

汤松臻, 张航, 张牧樵, 郭明

清华大学学报(自然科学版) ›› 2026, Vol. 66 ›› Issue (8) : 1704-1714.

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清华大学学报(自然科学版) ›› 2026, Vol. 66 ›› Issue (8) : 1704-1714. DOI: 10.16511/j.cnki.qhdxxb.2026.28.022
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随机粗糙微通道内液-液两相流动和传热特性

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Study on liquid–liquid two-phase flow and heat transfer characteristics in a randomly rough microchannel

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摘要

微通道内多相流的优异换热特性已得到广泛研究,但微通道的制造公差在加工过程中难以避免。对于微通道而言,制造公差不能轻易忽略。该文采用高斯分布方法生成随机壁面粗糙度,系统探究粗糙高度和关联长度对小直径共流型微通道内液-液弹状流流动及换热特性的影响。通过与文献中流速、液膜厚度及Nusselt数的实验解析数据对比,验证了数值模型的可靠性。结果表明,粗糙壁面通过减小有效流通面积显著提高内部流速,结合快速Fourier变换(FFT)分析,粗糙壁面的最大液弹生成频率较光滑壁面提升16.3%。粗糙壁面的壁温及内部流体平均温度均显著高于光滑壁面,且粗糙高度对流动和换热特性的影响相较于关联长度更为突出。该文成果可为微通道相关工程设计和优化提供必要参考。

Abstract

Objective: With the rapid development of high-power electronic devices, microchannel thermal management systems have attracted widespread attention due to their high efficiency and compact structure. They are also widely used in digital polymerase chain reaction chips, fuel cells, and pharmaceutical microreactors. Owing to the multiphase flow in microchannels, such systems exhibit outstanding heat transfer performance. In particular, liquid–liquid slug flows achieve Nusselt numbers that are 400% higher than those of single-phase flows with better flow stability. However, manufacturing roughness inevitably and substantially changes the actual complex flow patterns and heat transfer characteristics. Most previous studies adopted ideal smooth-wall assumptions, thereby ignoring the effects of actual surface roughness on liquid–liquid slug flows and the coupled thermal behaviors of such flows in real-world applications. This study aims to systematically explore how random wall roughness affects slug flow dynamics and heat transfer in small-diameter co-flow microchannels, clarify the influence of key roughness parameters (including relative height and correlation length), and further reveal the underlying mechanisms to support effective engineering design and optimization of microchannel-based thermal management devices. Methods: A two-dimensional axisymmetric numerical model was built in Fluent using the fixed reference frame and the volume-of-fluid interface-capturing method. The continuous surface force model was used to simulate interfacial tension, and the pressure implicit with splitting of operator (PISO) algorithm was adopted for pressure–velocity coupling. Random wall roughness was generated via a Gaussian distribution approach to mimic real machining errors. Grid independence and model reliability were verified by comparing simulation results with published experimental data on flow velocity, liquid film thickness, and Nusselt number. Toluene and water were used as working fluids with equal superficial velocities of 0.125 m/s, and a constant heat flux of 50 kW/m2 was applied to the channel wall. A fast Fourier transform was adopted to analyze the slug generation frequency. The flow velocity field, slug movement characteristics, temperature distribution, and heat transfer performance under different roughness parameters were systematically studied. Results: Rough walls reduce the effective flow area and increase the internal flow velocity significantly. The maximum slug generation frequency in rough channels was 16.3% higher than that in smooth channels. The developed wall area of rough surfaces was up to 30% larger than that of smooth walls, greatly enhancing the heat transfer interface. The wall temperature and average fluid temperature were notably higher in rough microchannels. Roughness height has a more prominent effect on flow and heat transfer than correlation length, whose influence saturates when the roughness distribution reaches a certain density. Slugs in rough channels travel at least 6% farther than those in smooth channels over the period of 6.0–26.5 ms, and the heat transfer coefficient increases by up to 12% as roughness height increases. Conclusions: Random wall roughness accelerates slug formation and enhances heat transfer by narrowing the flow area and disturbing the near-wall flow field. Roughness height plays a dominant role in regulating flow and thermal performance, while correlation length has a limited and saturable effect. These findings provide clear theoretical support and practical guidance for the design and optimization of microchannel thermal management devices and can guide the formulation of reasonable machining tolerance standards to balance manufacturing cost and thermal performance. Furthermore, the findings can help in properly controlling surface roughness to achieve better thermal efficiency in real industrial applications, laying the foundation for further research on roughness-optimized microchannel structures.

关键词

共流型微通道 / 随机壁面粗糙度 / 液-液弹状流 / 热传递特性

Key words

co-flowing microchannel / random wall roughness / liquid–liquid slug flow / heat transfer

引用本文

导出引用
汤松臻, 张航, 张牧樵, . 随机粗糙微通道内液-液两相流动和传热特性[J]. 清华大学学报(自然科学版). 2026, 66(8): 1704-1714 https://doi.org/10.16511/j.cnki.qhdxxb.2026.28.022
Songzhen TANG, Hang ZHANG, Muqiao ZHANG, et al. Study on liquid–liquid two-phase flow and heat transfer characteristics in a randomly rough microchannel[J]. Journal of Tsinghua University(Science and Technology). 2026, 66(8): 1704-1714 https://doi.org/10.16511/j.cnki.qhdxxb.2026.28.022
中图分类号: TD453   

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基金

国家自然科学基金资助面上项目(52376078)
河南省重点研发专项资助项目(241111320900)

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