Microscale Combustion: Principles, Challenges, and Prospects of Microchannel Burners

Abstract

Microscale combustion technology is a cutting-edge direction in the field of energy miniaturization and high efficiency, offering potential advantages such as high energy density, excellent integration, and superior combustion efficiency. As a core component enabling microscale combustion, microchannel burners demonstrate broad application prospects in areas like microenergy systems, micropropulsion, and portable thermoelectric conversion. This paper provides a systematic review of the fundamental working principles and structural characteristics of microchannel burners, with a focus on analyzing key challenges (e.g., flame stability, heat transfer losses, material limitations) and corresponding enhancement strategies (regenerative, catalytic, structural optimization). Additionally, it examines the current application status in fields such as miniature thermoelectric systems and micropropulsion, identifies existing research limitations, and outlines future development trends, aiming to provide references for in-depth research and engineering applications of microchannel combustion technology.