Experimental Assessment of Alternating Magnetic Fields for Subcooled Flow Boiling Enhancement in an Annulus

Abstract

The application of magnetic fields to enhance boiling heat transfer in magnetic nanofluids has emerged as a promising strategy for advanced thermal management, yet the influence of alternating magnetic fields remains largely unexplored compared to their constant counterparts. The effects of alternating and constant (steady) magnetic fields on the subcooled flow boiling of a ferrofluid in a vertically oriented annulus are thoroughly investigated experimentally in this work. The magnetic field generated by face-to-face electromagnets was systematically varied in strength (up to 0.3 T), frequency, and waveform (square, triangular, sinusoidal). The results demonstrate that magnetic fields under constant and alternating conditions substantially enhance local and average convective heat transfer coefficients and critical heat flux compared to the no-field baseline. Due to its ability to effectively disrupt the thermal boundary layer and improve bubble dynamics, the alternating square-wave magnetic field (0.3 T, 2 Hz) notably produces the greatest enhancement. Under this condition, the convective heat transfer coefficient increased by up to 21 %, and the critical heat flux improved by approximately 24 % compared to the no-field baseline. The enhancement strongly depends on mass flux and field frequency, with optimal frequencies shifting higher at increased flow rates due to shortened nanoparticle residence time in the magnetic region. At elevated mass fluxes, the benefit of alternating over constant fields diminishes as inertial effects become dominant.