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Spray Cooling as a High-Efficient Thermal Management Solution: A Review

Author

Listed:
  • Jing Yin

    (State Key Laboratory of Multiphase Flow in Power Engineering, Xi’an Jiaotong University, Xi’an 710049, China
    Jing Yin and Shangming Wang contributed equally to this work and should be considered as co-first authors.)

  • Shangming Wang

    (State Key Laboratory of Multiphase Flow in Power Engineering, Xi’an Jiaotong University, Xi’an 710049, China
    Jing Yin and Shangming Wang contributed equally to this work and should be considered as co-first authors.)

  • Xuehao Sang

    (State Key Laboratory of Multiphase Flow in Power Engineering, Xi’an Jiaotong University, Xi’an 710049, China)

  • Zhifu Zhou

    (State Key Laboratory of Multiphase Flow in Power Engineering, Xi’an Jiaotong University, Xi’an 710049, China)

  • Bin Chen

    (State Key Laboratory of Multiphase Flow in Power Engineering, Xi’an Jiaotong University, Xi’an 710049, China)

  • Panidis Thrassos

    (Laboratory of Applied Thermodynamics Mechanical Engineering and Aeronautics Department, University of Patras, 26504 Rio Patras, Greece)

  • Alexandros Romeos

    (Laboratory of Applied Thermodynamics Mechanical Engineering and Aeronautics Department, University of Patras, 26504 Rio Patras, Greece)

  • Athanasios Giannadakis

    (Laboratory of Applied Thermodynamics Mechanical Engineering and Aeronautics Department, University of Patras, 26504 Rio Patras, Greece)

Abstract

As one of the most promising thermal management solutions, spray cooling has the advantages of high heat-transfer coefficient and maintaining a low temperature of the cooling surface. By summarizing the influential factors and practical applications of spray cooling, the current challenges and bottlenecks were indicated so as to prompt its potential applications in the future. Firstly, this paper reviewed the heat-transfer mechanism of spray cooling and found that spray cooling is more advantageous for heat dissipation in high-power electronic devices by comparing it with other cooling techniques. Secondly, the latest experimental studies on spray cooling were reviewed in detail, especially the effects of spray parameters, types of working fluid, surface modification, and environmental parameters on the performance of cooling system. Afterwards, the configuration and design of the spray cooling system, as well as its applications in the actual industry (data centers, hybrid electric vehicles, and so on) were enumerated and summarized. Finally, the scientific challenges and technical bottlenecks encountered in the theoretical research and industrial application of spray cooling technology were discussed, and the direction of future efforts were reasonably speculated.

Suggested Citation

  • Jing Yin & Shangming Wang & Xuehao Sang & Zhifu Zhou & Bin Chen & Panidis Thrassos & Alexandros Romeos & Athanasios Giannadakis, 2022. "Spray Cooling as a High-Efficient Thermal Management Solution: A Review," Energies, MDPI, vol. 15(22), pages 1-29, November.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jeners:v:15:y:2022:i:22:p:8547-:d:973445
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    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Cheng, Wen-Long & Han, Feng-Yun & Liu, Qi-Nie & Zhao, Rui & Fan, Han-lin, 2011. "Experimental and theoretical investigation of surface temperature non-uniformity of spray cooling," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 36(1), pages 249-257.
    2. Kandasamy, Ranjith & Ho, Jin Yao & Liu, Pengfei & Wong, Teck Neng & Toh, Kok Chuan & Chua, Sunshine Jr, 2022. "Two-phase spray cooling for high ambient temperature data centers: Evaluation of system performance," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 305(C).
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    4. Zimmermann, Severin & Meijer, Ingmar & Tiwari, Manish K. & Paredes, Stephan & Michel, Bruno & Poulikakos, Dimos, 2012. "Aquasar: A hot water cooled data center with direct energy reuse," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 43(1), pages 237-245.
    5. Jiameng Tian & Bin Chen & Zhifu Zhou & Dong Li, 2020. "Theoretical Study on Cryogen Spray Cooling in Laser Treatment of Ota’s Nevus: Comparison and Optimization of R134a, R404A and R32," Energies, MDPI, vol. 13(21), pages 1-20, October.
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    Cited by:

    1. Hongxing Wang & Yiheng Xu & Panpan Li & Qingjun Liu & Longdi Cheng & Jianyong Yu & Yang Si, 2025. "Aerogel-based Leidenfrost vapor percolator for ultra-fast thermal cooling," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 16(1), pages 1-12, December.
    2. Matthew Meier & Elias G. Strangas, 2025. "Cooling Systems for High-Speed Machines—Review and Design Considerations," Energies, MDPI, vol. 18(15), pages 1-29, July.
    3. Wang, Shangming & Zhou, Zhifu & Sang, Xuehao & Chen, Bin & Romeos, Alexandros & Giannadakis, Athanasios & Thrassos, Panidis, 2023. "Coupling dynamic thermal analysis and surface modification to enhance heat dissipation of R410A spray cooling for high-power electronics," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 284(C).
    4. Chen, Xinge & Hu, Chudong & Liang, Jun & Li, Jiangpeng & Lu, Lin & Wu, Yan & Zang, Jianbin, 2025. "Efficient two-phase liquid cooling and optimization technology on the chip side based on high-power data centers: Summary and prospects," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 223(C).

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