Theoretical investigation on the mechanism of surface temperature non-uniformity formation in spray cooling

In this study, the effects of droplet velocity non-uniformity, SMD (Sauter mean diameter) distribution non-uniformity, droplet number non-uniformity, and heating power on the fluid film thickness, fluid film velocity, and surface temperature distribution were investigated, and then the surface temperature non-uniformity correlations in non-boiling regime and nucleate boiling regime were correlated. The results show that: with the decreasing of the spray parameters non-uniformity, the fluid film thickness on the heating surface becomes more uniform, and the fluid film velocity increases, thus the surface temperature non-uniformity decreases. The highest surface temperature appears in the centre of the heating surface, and the lowest is nearby the position where the fluid film appears. The droplet number non-uniformity contributes the largest portion of impact on the surface temperature non-uniformity, followed by the droplet velocity non-uniformity. The effect of droplet SMD non-uniformity is the minimal. Finally, the surface temperature non-uniformity correlations in non-boiling regime and nucleate boiling regime were correlated with a mean absolute error of 20%.