Microchannels and Minichannels: History, Terminology, Classification and Current Research Needs

Microchannels and Minichannels are found in many biological systems providing very high heat and mass transfer rates in organs such as the brain, lung, liver and kidney. Many high flux cooling applications are effectively utilizing their high heat transfer capabilities of these channels. A brief overview of the historical perspective and some of the issues that need to be addressed with microchannels and Minichannels are presented in this paper.