New empirical correlation models are constructed to characterise heat transfer associated with spray evaporative cooling of vibrating surfaces -a process involving complex two-phase physics well beyond current numerical simulation capabilities. The proposed correlation models, which account for dynamic, rather than just static surface conditions as in existing models, are constructed using dimensional analysis involving the Generalized Buckingham Π-Theorem. Experimentally-measured spray evaporative cooling data is used to fit the model using the Vibrational Reynolds number and a dimensionless acceleration number which better correlate the influence of surface frequency and amplitude in the nucleate boiling regime. Different coolant flow-rates through a full-cone spray nozzle are used to cool a flat circular test-piece acting as a horizontal surface. The test-piece surface is excited by a shaker through a range of low and high vibration frequencies and amplitudes. The results show that surface dynamic effects certainly influence nucleate boiling, but they also show that surface vibration does not have the same effect for all excess temperatures -dynamic effects can either increase or decrease heat transfer depending on the heat transfer mechanism. These new models are important for thermal management in several areas, particularly involving batteries, power electronics, and electrical machines in automotive and aerospace applications.

The accuracy of computational fluid dynamic (CFD)-based heat transfer predictions have been examined of relevance to liquid cooling of IC engines at high engine loads where some nucleate boiling occurs. Predictions based on (i) the Reynolds Averaged Navier-Stokes (RANS) solution and (ii) large eddy simulation (LES) have been generated. The purpose of these simulations is to establish the role of turbulence modeling on the accuracy and efficiency of heat transfer predictions for engine-like thermal conditions where published experimental data are available. A multiphase mixture modeling approach, with a volume-of-fluid interface-capturing method, has been employed. To predict heat transfer in the boiling regime, the empirical boiling correlation of Rohsenow is used for both RANS and LES. The rate of vapor-mass generation at the wall surface is determined from the heat flux associated with the evaporation phase change. Predictions via CFD are compared with published experimental data showing that LES gives only slightly more accurate temperature predictions compared to RANS but at substantially higher computational cost.

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A numerical study is described to predict, in the non-boiling regime, the heat transfer from a circular flat surface cooled by a full-cone spray of water at atmospheric pressure. Simulations based on coupled computational fluid dynamics and conjugate heat transfer are used to predict the detailed features of the fluid flow and heat transfer for three different spray conditions involving three mass fluxes between 3.5 and 9.43 kg/m 2 s corresponding to spray Reynolds numbers between 82 and 220, based on a 20 mm diameter target surface. A two-phase Lagrange-Eulerian modelling approach is adopted to resolve the spray-film flow dynamics. Simultaneous evaporation and condensation within the fluid film is modelled by solving the mass conservation equation at the film-continuum interface. Predicted heat transfer coefficients on the cooled surface are compared with published experimental data showing good agreement. The spray mass flux is confirmed to be the dominant factor for heat transfer in spray cooling, where single-phase convection within the thin fluid film on the flat surface is identified as the primary heat transfer mechanism. This enhancement of heat transfer, via single-phase convection, is identified to be the result of the discrete random nature of the droplets disrupting the surface of thin film.

A numerical study is presented to examine the behavior of a single liquid droplet initially passing through air or steam, followed by impingement onto a static or vibrating surface. The fluid dynamic equations are solved using the Volume of Fluid method, which includes both viscous and surface tension effects, and the possibility of droplet evaporation when the impact surface is hot. Initially, dynamic behavior is examined for isothermal impingement of a droplet moving through air, first without and then with boundary vibration. Isothermal simulations are used to establish how droplet rebound conditions and the time interval between initial contact to detachment vary with droplet diameter for droplet impingement onto a stationary boundary. Heat transfer is then assessed for a liquid droplet initially at saturation temperature passing through steam, followed by contact with a hot vibrating boundary, in which droplet evaporation commences. The paper shows that, for droplet impingement onto a static boundary, the minimum impact velocity for rebound reduces linearly with droplet diameter, whereas the time interval between initial contact and detachment appears to increase linearly with droplet diameter. With the introduction of a vibrating surface, the minimum relative impact velocity for isothermal rebound is found to be higher than the minimum impact velocity for static boundary droplet rebound. For impingement onto a hot surface, in which droplet evaporation commences, it is shown that large-amplitude surface vibration reduces heat transfer, whereas low-amplitude high-frequency vibration appears to increase heat transfer.