TY - JOUR

T1 - Comparative study of spray and multi-jet impingement thermal performance based on infrared thermography for high-power electronics

AU - Surtaev, A. S.

AU - Sarapulov, A. S.

AU - Vladimirov, V. Yu

AU - Shamirzaev, A. S.

N1 - A.S. Surtaev, A.S. Sarapulov, V.Yu. Vladimirov, A.S. Shamirzaev, Comparative study of spray and multi-jet impingement thermal performance based on infrared thermography for high-power electronics, Applied Thermal Engineering,Volume 304, Part 3, 2026, 132699, ISSN 1359-4311, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.applthermaleng.2026.132699. This study was supported by a grant from the Russian Science Foundation (project No. 22-19-00581-П, https://rscf.ru/project/22-19- 00581/).

PY - 2026/9

Y1 - 2026/9

N2 - Spray cooling and multi-jet impingement in confined spaces are among the most promising technologies for removing ultra-high heat fluxes from next-generation electronic devices. However, despite extensive research on both techniques, systematic comparisons performed under identical operating conditions remain limited, particularly with respect to spatially resolved heat-transfer characteristics, boiling incipience, and the trade-off between thermal performance and hydraulic efficiency. This lack of comparative data hinders the rational selection and optimization of cooling strategies for compact high-power electronics. This study presents a comparative experimental investigation of spray and multi-jet cooling in a confined geometry using highly subcooled water and a silicon heater (12.7 × 12.7 mm2) representative of a high-heat-flux electronic chip. High-resolution infrared thermography was employed to obtain spatially resolved surface-temperature fields, enabling direct comparison of local and area-averaged heat-transfer characteristics in single-phase and two-phase modes and temperature uniformity. For both cooling configurations, the optimal nozzle-to-surface distance corresponding to the maximum heat transfer coefficient was determined. New semi-empirical correlations are proposed for predicting single-phase heat transfer in spray and confined multi-jet cooling. In addition, a methodology based on statistical analysis of infrared temperature fields was applied to identify the onset of nucleate boiling and to quantify the relative contribution of phase change to the overall heat transfer. The results show that, under identical flow rates and heat fluxes up to 8.6 MW/m2, spray cooling provides heat transfer coefficients 10–20% higher than those of multi-jet cooling while simultaneously producing a more uniform surface-temperature distribution. Conversely, multi-jet cooling exhibits up to a twofold higher coefficient of performance owing to its substantially lower pumping-power requirement. The analysis further demonstrates that, for highly subcooled water, nucleate boiling contributes only a minor fraction of the total heat transfer under the investigated conditions and heated substrates. The obtained results provide new insight into the relationship between hydrodynamics, temperature non-uniformity, boiling incipience, and energy efficiency in spray and confined multi-jet cooling systems, offering practical guidance for the design and optimization of thermal management solutions for high-power electronics.

AB - Spray cooling and multi-jet impingement in confined spaces are among the most promising technologies for removing ultra-high heat fluxes from next-generation electronic devices. However, despite extensive research on both techniques, systematic comparisons performed under identical operating conditions remain limited, particularly with respect to spatially resolved heat-transfer characteristics, boiling incipience, and the trade-off between thermal performance and hydraulic efficiency. This lack of comparative data hinders the rational selection and optimization of cooling strategies for compact high-power electronics. This study presents a comparative experimental investigation of spray and multi-jet cooling in a confined geometry using highly subcooled water and a silicon heater (12.7 × 12.7 mm2) representative of a high-heat-flux electronic chip. High-resolution infrared thermography was employed to obtain spatially resolved surface-temperature fields, enabling direct comparison of local and area-averaged heat-transfer characteristics in single-phase and two-phase modes and temperature uniformity. For both cooling configurations, the optimal nozzle-to-surface distance corresponding to the maximum heat transfer coefficient was determined. New semi-empirical correlations are proposed for predicting single-phase heat transfer in spray and confined multi-jet cooling. In addition, a methodology based on statistical analysis of infrared temperature fields was applied to identify the onset of nucleate boiling and to quantify the relative contribution of phase change to the overall heat transfer. The results show that, under identical flow rates and heat fluxes up to 8.6 MW/m2, spray cooling provides heat transfer coefficients 10–20% higher than those of multi-jet cooling while simultaneously producing a more uniform surface-temperature distribution. Conversely, multi-jet cooling exhibits up to a twofold higher coefficient of performance owing to its substantially lower pumping-power requirement. The analysis further demonstrates that, for highly subcooled water, nucleate boiling contributes only a minor fraction of the total heat transfer under the investigated conditions and heated substrates. The obtained results provide new insight into the relationship between hydrodynamics, temperature non-uniformity, boiling incipience, and energy efficiency in spray and confined multi-jet cooling systems, offering practical guidance for the design and optimization of thermal management solutions for high-power electronics.

KW - Boiling onset

KW - Confined multi-jet cooling

KW - Heat transfer

KW - Infrared thermography

KW - Spray cooling

KW - Thermal performance

KW - Охлаждение распылением

KW - охлаждение ограниченным многоструйным потоком

KW - инфракрасная термография

KW - теплообмен

KW - начало кипения

KW - тепловые характеристики

UR - https://www.mendeley.com/catalogue/8dece76a-c1b9-366b-9b8f-60263ee3d545/

UR - https://www.scopus.com/pages/publications/105047563984

U2 - 10.1016/j.applthermaleng.2026.132699

DO - 10.1016/j.applthermaleng.2026.132699

M3 - Article

VL - 304

JO - Applied Thermal Engineering

JF - Applied Thermal Engineering

SN - 1359-4311

M1 - 132699

ER -