Heat transfer enhancement of electrospray cooling with microencapsulated phase change material slurry (MPCMS): A comprehensive numerical model and experimental study

Electrospray cooling (ESC) technology is increasingly emphasized due to its efficient heat removal capacity, minor coolant consumption and accurate thermal control. Previous articles had focused on either experimental exploration on ESC performance or numerical methods on solitary electrospray such as Volume of Fluid [1], Boundary Element Method [2] and Lagrangian model [3]. However, there is no comprehensive model characterizing the whole ESC process. Moreover, there was barely investigation on ESC enhancement using phase change materials (PCM). Herein, this study has bridged this gap by developing a new comprehensive model to explore the ESC enhancement with microencapsulated phase change material slurry (MPCMS), and conducted experiment to verify it. The influences of applied voltage, mass concentration and inlet temperature of MPCMS on the ESC were discussed. Results revealed that MPCMS offered superior cooling performance during melting process due to latent heat absorption compared to deionized water. Nevertheless, as wall temperatures increased, the deposition, higher viscosity and lower thermal conductivity of MPCMS would compromise cooling efficiency. Moreover, higher applied voltage enhanced cooling performance by increasing droplet velocity, and reducing the possibility of droplet rebound. When the inlet temperature approached the peak melting temperature, the convective heat transfer coefficient reached its maximum.