Computational investigation of the influence of jet parameters for single and multi-jet array impingement boiling

Jet impingement boiling is identified as one of the most promising thermal management techniques for high heat flux applications. Unfortunately, only a few numerical studies have been reported in literature and these are limited to single jets. In this work, we have numerically investigated both submerged single round jets and confined multi-jet arrays in the fully developed nucleate boiling regime. Considerable attention is given to the heat transfer mechanisms (i.e. quenching and evaporation) at the heated surface, which prove to be highly dependent on the jet parameters and heating method (i.e. isoflux or conjugation). The boiling phenomenon of jet impingement was compared against experimental case studies of both a submerged single round jet and a confined multi-jet array impinging on heated copper blocks. The Eulerian multiphase framework with the Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI) boiling model is used to predict heat transfer, phase change, and turbulence interaction between the two phases. Our study suggests that the modelling of the substrate (conduction) is important to accurately predict surface temperatures for a given heat flux. The results of our parametric analyses showed good agreement with the experimental observations of single submerged jets. Our results also indicate that multi-jet arrays are less sensitive to changes in the jet parameters.