The effect of internal surface modification on flow instabilities in forced convection boiling in a horizontal tube

This paper presents the experimental result of a study on the effects of heat transfer enhancement on two-phase flow instabilities in a horizontal in-tube flow boiling system. Five different heat transfer surface configurations and five different inlet temperatures are used to observe the effect of heat transfer enhancement and inlet subcooling. All experiments are carried out at constant heat input, system pressure and exit restriction. Dynamic instabilities, namely pressure-drop type, density-wave type and thermal oscillations are found to occur for all the investigated temperatures and enhancement configurations, and the boundaries for the appearance of these oscillations are found. The effect of the enhancement configurations on the characteristics of the boiling flow dynamic instabilities is studied in detail. The comparison between the bare tube and the enhanced tube configurations are made on the basis of boiling flow instabilities. Differences among the enhanced configurations are also determined to observe which of them is the most stable and unstable one. The amplitudes and periods of pressure-drop type oscillations and density-wave type oscillations for tubes with enhanced surfaces are found to be higher than those of the bare tube. The bare tube is found to be the most stable configuration, while tube with internal springs having bigger pitch is found to be the most unstable one among the tested tubes. It is found that system stability increases with decreasing equivalent diameter for the same type heater tube configurations; however, on the basis of effective diameter there is no single result such as stability increase/decrease with increasing/decreasing effective diameter.     

Local heat transfer from a hot plate to a water jet

Jet impingement boiling is very efficient in cooling of hot surfaces as a part of the impinging liquid evaporates. Because of its importance to many cooling procedures, investigations on basic mechanisms of jet impingement boiling heat transfer are needed. Until now, most of the experimental studies, carried out under steady-state conditions, used a heat flux controlled system and were limited by the critical heat flux (CHF). The present study focuses on steady-state experiments along the entire boiling curve for hot plate temperatures of up to 700°C. A test section has been built up simulating a hot plate. It is divided into 8 independently heated modules of 10 mm length to enable local heat transfer measurements. By means of temperature controlled systems for each module local steady-state experiments in the whole range between single phase heat transfer and film boiling are possible. By solving the two dimensional inverse heat conduction problem, the local heat flux and the corresponding wall temperature on the surface of each module can be computed. The measurements show important differences between boiling curves measured at the stagnation line and those obtained in the parallel flow region. At the stagnation line, the transition boiling regime is characterised by very high heat fluxes, extended to large wall superheats. Inversely, boiling curves in the parallel flow region are very near to classical ones obtained for forced convection boiling. The analysis of temperature fluctuations measured at a depth of 0.8 mm from the boiling surface enables some conclusions on the boiling mechanism in the different boiling regimes.     

Single bubble growth in saturated pool boiling on a constant wall temperature surface

Nucleate pool boiling experiments with constant wall temperatures were performed using R11 and R113 for saturated pool boiling conditions. A microscale heater array and Wheatstone bridge circuits were used to maintain a constant wall temperature condition and to obtain measurements with high temporal and spatial resolution. Accurate heat flow rate data were obtained from microscale heater array by controlling the surface conditions at a high temporal resolution. Images of the bubble growth were captured using a high-speed CCD camera synchronized with the heat flow rate measurements. The geometry of the bubble was obtained from the images. In the asymptotic growth region, the bubble showed a growth rate that was proportional to t^1/5, which was slower than the growth rate proposed in previous analytical analyses. The bubble growth behavior was analyzed using a new dimensionless parameter to permit comparisons with previous results at the same scale. The comparisons showed good agreement in the asymptotic growth region. A non-dimensional correlation for the bubble radius that can predict the bubble growth and the heat flow rate simultaneously, was suggested. The required heat flow rate for the volume change of the observed bubble was estimated to be larger than the instantaneous heat flow rate measured from the wall. Heat, other than the instantaneous heat supplied from the wall, is estimated to be transferred through the interface between bubble and liquid, even with saturated pool conditions. This phenomenon under a saturated pool condition needs to be analyzed and the data from this study can supply the good experimental data with the precise boundary condition (constant wall temperature).     

Convective boiling in a parallel microchannel heat sink with a diverging cross section and artificial nucleation sites

To develop a highly stable microchannel heat sink for boiling heat transfer, three types of diverging microchannels (Type 1, Type 2 and Type 3) were designed to experimentally investigate the effect of different distributions of artificial nucleation sites (ANS) on the enhancement of flow boiling heat transfer, in 10 parallel diverging microchannels with a mean hydraulic diameter of 120 μm. Water was used as the working fluid with mass flux, based on the mean cross section area, ranging from 99 to 297 kg/m² s. The Type-1 system did not contain any ANS; the Type-2 system contained ANS distributed uniformly along the downstream half of the channel; and the Type-3 system contained ANS distributed uniformly along the entire channel. The ANS are laser-etched pits on the bottom wall of the channel and have a mouth diameter of approximately 20-22 μm, as indicted by the heterogeneous nucleation theory. The results of the present study reveal that the presence of ANS for flow boiling in parallel diverging microchannels significantly reduces the wall superheat and enhances the boiling heat transfer performance. The Type-3 system shows the best boiling heat transfer performance.     

Untersuchung von Schwingungen einer Zweiphasenströmung durch Druckabfall und Dichtewellen mit Hilfe finiter Differenzen

The previous experimental analysis has indicated the existence to two major modes of oscillations, i.e., Density-Wave (high frequency) and Pressure-Drop (low frequency) Oscillations in single channel, electrically heated, forced convection upflow systems. In this work the stability of such a system is investigated theoretically and the results are compared with experimental findings obtained by the authors. The Homogeneous Phase Equilibrium model is used to describe the two-phase flow characteristics. The friction between the pipe wall and the expanding fluid is modeled using the Moody friction factor assuming an effective two-phase viscosity. Gravitational forces are included and heat transfer into the fluid is assumed to be the function of the wall temperature, fluid temperature and heat transfer coefficient which is also assumed to be a function of the flow rate. Though simple, this model is found to be very satisfactory in simulating both modes of oscillations with acceptable accuracy. The physical nature of each mode is different and distinct, therefore, separate solution methods are developed for each case. The Steady-State Flow Characteristics are obtained for various heat inputs and inlet temperatures by solving the conservation equations together with the equation of state by using an Implicit Finite- Difference technique. In the analysis of low frequency oscillations it is assumed that the quasi-steady state conditions prevail in the heater. The system equations obtained with this assumption are solved under constant exit pressure and constant container pressure boundary conditions using the finite-difference technique. Two methods of approach are adapted in solving the non-linear hyperbolic equations which describe the system at low mass flow rates where the density-wave type oscillations are observed. They are the Explicit Integral Momentum method (EIM) and the Explicit Finite-Difference method (EFD). A comparison of the results with experiments and other mathematical models is discussed.     

Natural convection boiling of water and surfactant solutions having negligible environmental impact in vertical confined space

Natural convection boiling of water and surfactant solutions in a confined space between two vertical plates was studied experimentally in the range of heat flux 19–170 kW/m². The surfactant used was Alkyl (8–16) Glucoside having negligible environmental impact. The gap size was changed in the range of s = 1–80 mm, the concentration of surfactant solutions was changed in the range of C = 200–600 ppm. Generally, an addition of surfactant leads to an enhancement of heat transfer compared to water boiling at the same gap size. Enhancement of the heat transfer depending on the solution concentration at fixed gap size yields maximum value at the solution concentration close to the critical micelle concentration. The effect of confined space on a bubble dynamic was studied. Temperature field on the heater was determined using the infrared thermography technique. Quasi periodic wall temperature fluctuations were observed in the regime of high heat flux. An increase in the Bond number leads to an increase in the dimensionless frequency of the heated wall temperature fluctuations. The correlation between the dimensionless parameter of heat transfer and the Bond number under condition of quasi periodic boiling was derived and discussed.     

Numerical simulation of natural convection in a vertical annulus with a localized heat source

The present numerical investigation deals with the size and location effects of a single isoflux discrete heater on the buoyancy induced convection in a cylindrical annulus. A discrete heater is placed at the inner wall, while the top and bottom walls as well as the unheated portions of the inner wall are kept adiabatic, and the outer wall is maintained at a lower temperature. The influence of location and size of the discrete heater on the convective flow and the corresponding heat transfer are obtained for a wide range of physical parameters. The predicted numerical results reveal that the placement of heater near the middle portion of inner wall yields a maximum heat transfer and minimum hot spots rather than placing the heater near the top and bottom portions of the inner wall. We found that the location of heater affects the rates of flow circulation and heat transfer in a complex fashion. The rate of heat transfer is an increasing function of radii ratio of the annulus. Further, we found that the rate of heat transfer and maximum temperature in the annular cavity are significantly modified by the heater length and location.     

Interfacial mass transfer around a vapor bubble during nucleate boiling

Interfacial mass transfer from vapor bubbles affects markedly the heat transfer efficiency of nucleate boiling. The position of the interfacial zone that exhibits zero net mass flux, namely, the zero-flux zone, represents an essential parameter in detailed modeling works on nucleate boiling. Assuming a linear temperature profile in the superheated liquid adjacent to the heating wall, our previous work (Li et al. [10]) demonstrated the zero-flux angle as a function of wall superheat, solid-liquid- vapor contact angle, and bubble growth rate. To make a more realistic framework, we refined in this paper the proposed mass flux model by taking into account the role of thermocapillary flow that is induced by the temperature gradient around the vapor bubble, and that of non-condensable gas presented in the boiling liquid. The Hertz-Kundsen-Schrage equation describes the interfacial mass flux distribution along the vapor bubble surface. Owing to the flattened temperature distribution produced by thermocapillary flow, which significantly reduces the interfacial area to evaporation, the zero-flux zone shifts to the bubble base with most of the cap regime to condense vapor at the interface and to produce the thermal jet. This occurrence also weakens the dependence of bubble growth rate and of the contact angle on the location of zero-flux zone, and yields early occurrence of the non-condensation limit at which the entire bubble surface is subjected to evaporation. Sensitivity analysis demonstrated the significance of process parameters on the evaluation of zero-flux angle using the HKS equation.     

Visualization study of the effects of nanoparticles surface deposition on convective flow boiling CHF from a short heated wall

Enhancements of nucleate boiling critical heat flux (CHF) using nanofluids in a pool boiling are well known. Considering importance of flow boiling heat transfer in various practical applications, an experimental study on CHF enhancements of nanofluids under convective flow conditions was performed. Changing flow velocity from 0 m/s to 4 m/s, the water boiling on nanoparticles-coated heater was conducted and CHF increased at a given velocity. To understand clearly the mechanism of flow boiling CHF enhancement in nanofluid, the visualization of the nucleate boiling and CHF phenomenon was conducted using the high-speed video camera. It was found that the boiling heat transfer on the nanoparticles-coated heater was lower than that on bare heater, which induced the different flow regime at same heat flux. The different wetting zone on bare and nanoparticles-coated heaters was observed by visualization study. Based the wetting zone fraction, there was brief that the nucleate boiling fraction on heater would be related with the surface wettability. A new concept of flow boiling model was proposed based on the wetting zone fraction. Finally, the effect of nanoparticles deposition layer on the heater was interpreted with the physical mechanisms to increase CHF.     

A film boiling model for cryogenic chilldown at low mass flux inside a horizontal pipeline

A film boiling heat transfer model is developed for cryogenic chilldown at low mass flux inside a horizontal pipeline. It incorporates the stratified flow structure and is based on conservation principles of mass, momentum, and energy. Simplifying assumptions lead to an expression for the local film boiling heat transfer coefficient which varies with the azimuthal angle. The efficacy of the model is assessed by comparing the predicted wall temperature histories with those measured at several azimuthal positions and various mass fluxes. Good agreement is observed at low flux, G = 13–54 kg/m² s.     

Momentum and heat transfer of a special case of the unsteady stagnation-point flow

This paper investigates the unsteady stagnation-point flow and heat transfer over a moving plate with mass transfer, which is also an exact solution to the unsteady Navier-Stokes(NS) equations. The boundary layer energy equation is solved with the closed form solutions for prescribed wall temperature and prescribed wall heat flux conditions. The wall temperature and heat flux have power dependence on both time and spatial distance. The solution domain, the velocity distribution, the flow field, ...     

Wavelet decomposition method decoupled boiling/evaporation oscillation mechanisms over two to three timescales: A study for a microchannel with pin fin structure

Boiling/evaporation heat transfer in a microchannel with pin fin structure was performed with water as the working fluid. Simultaneous measurements of various parameters were performed. The chip wall temperatures were measured by a high spatial-time resolution IR image system, having a sensitivity of 0.02 °C. The flow pattern variations synchronously changed wall temperatures due to ultra-small Bi number. The wavelet decomposition method successfully identified the noise signal and decoupled various temperature oscillations with different amplitudes and frequencies. Three types of temperature oscillations were identified according to heat flux q and mass flux G. The first type of oscillation occurred at q/G < 0.62 kJ/kg. The approximation coefficient of wavelet decomposition decided the dominant cycle period which was ∼3 times of the fluid residence time in the microchannel, behaving the density wave oscillation characteristic. The detail coefficients of wavelet decomposition decided the dominant cycle period, which matched the flow pattern transition determined value well, representing the flow pattern transition induced oscillation. For the second type of oscillation, the wavelet decomposition decoupled the three oscillation mechanisms. The pressure drop oscillation caused the temperature oscillation amplitudes of 5–10 °C and cycle periods of 10–15 s. The density wave oscillation and flow pattern transition induced oscillation are embedded with both the pressure rise and decrease stages of the pressure drop oscillation. The third type of oscillation happened at q/G > 1.13 kJ/kg, having the density wave oscillation coupled with the varied liquid film evaporation induced oscillation. The liquid island, retention bubble induced nucleation sites and cone-shape two-phase developing region are unique features of microchannel boiling with pin fin structure. This study illustrated that pressure drop oscillation and density wave oscillation, usually happened in large size channels, also take place in microchannels. The flow pattern transition and varied liquid film evaporation induced oscillations are specific to microchannel boiling/evaporation flow.     

Boiling heat transfer characteristics of nanofluids in a flat heat pipe evaporator with micro-grooved heating surface

An experimental study was performed to understand the nucleate boiling heat transfer of water–CuO nanoparticles suspension (nanofluids) at different operating pressures and different nanoparticle mass concentrations. The experimental apparatus is a miniature flat heat pipe (MFHP) with micro-grooved heat transfer surface of its evaporator. The experimental results indicate that the operating pressure has great influence on the nucleate boiling characteristics in the MFHP evaporator. The heat transfer coefficient and the critical heat flux (CHF) of nanofluids increase greatly with decreasing pressure as compared with those of water. The heat transfer coefficient and the CHF of nanofluids can increase about 25% and 50%, respectively, at atmospheric pressure whereas about 100% and 150%, respectively, at the pressure of 7.4 kPa. Nanoparticle mass concentration also has significant influence on the boiling heat transfer and the CHF of nanofluids. The heat transfer coefficient and the CHF increase slowly with the increase of the nanoparticle mass concentration at low concentration conditions. However, when the nanoparticle mass concentration is over 1.0 wt%, the CHF enhancement is close to a constant number and the heat transfer coefficient deteriorates. There exists an optimum mass concentration for nanofluids which corresponds to the maximum heat transfer enhancement and this optimum mass concentration is 1.0 wt% at all test pressures. The experiment confirmed that the boiling heat transfer characteristics of the MFHP evaporator can evidently be strengthened by using water/CuO nanofluids.     

Analysis of forced-convection boiling flow instabilities in a single-channel upflow system

A numerical model is developed to predict the steady-state and transient behaviour of forced-convection boiling two-phase flow in a single channel. The model is based on the assumption of homogeneous two-phase flow and thermodynamic equilibrium of the phases. Compressibility effects in the two-phase region, motion of the bulk boiling interface and the thermal capacity of the heater wall have been included in the analysis. The model is used to study the effects of heat input, inlet subcooling and flow rate on the system behaviour. For comparison purposes, an experimental investigation was conducted using a single-channel, electrically heated, forced-convection upflow system. Steady-state operating characteristics, and stable and unstable regions, are determined as a function of heat flux, inlet subcooling and mass flow rate. Different modes of oscillation and their characteristics have been investigated. The model's predictions are in good agreement with the experimental results.     

Boiling heat transfer enhancement of water on tubes in compact in-line bundles

In desalinization devices and some heat exchangers making use of low-quality heat energy, both wall temperatures and wall heat fluxes of the heated tubes are generally quite low; hence they cannot cause boiling in flooded tube-bundle evaporators with common large tube spacing. However, when the tube spacing is very small, the incipient boiling in restricted spaces can generate and results in higher heat transfer than that of pool boiling at the same heat flux. This study investigated experimentally the effects of tube spacing, positions of tubes and test pressures on the boiling heat transfer of water in restricted spaces of the compact in-line bundles consisting of smooth horizontal tubes. The experimental results show that tube spacing and tube position have significant effects on the boiling heat transfer in a compact tube bundle. There is an optimum tube spacing that provides the largest heat transfer coefficient at the same heat flux.     

An experimental investigation of thermally induced flow instabilities in a convective boiling upflow system

The two-phase flow instabilities in a single channel, forced convection, open loop, up-flow system have been investigated experimentally using R-11 as the working fluid. The effects of mass flow rate, heat input, inlet liquid temperature and upstream compressible volume on two-phase flow instabilities have been investigated. Two heater surfaces were tested at five different heat inputs with constant inlet temperature, and four different inlet temperatures with constant heat input. For each case, the mass flow rate was varied over a wide range covering the entire scope for boiling two-phase flows. Experiments were also conducted at different compressible volumes, with constant heat input, inlet fluid temperature, and average mass flow rate. The oscillations of inlet mass flow rate, heater inlet pressure, and heater wall temperature were recorded. The effects of mass flow rate, inlet liquid temperature and heat input on the amplitudes and periods of inlet pressure and thermal oscillations are presented in tabular and graphical forms.

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Experimentelle Untersuchung der thermisch bedingten Strömungsinstabilitäten bei konvektiven Sieden in einer Aufwärtsströmung

Zusammenfassung Mit R-11 als Arbeitsfluid werden Zweiphasen-Strömungsinstabilitäten im Einzelkanal bei erzwungener Aufwärtsströmung ohne Rückführung experimentell untersucht, und zwar besonders im Hinblick auf den Einfluß der Massenstromdichte, der Wärmezufuhr, der Eintrittstemperatur und des in Strömungsrichtung zunehmenden kompressiblen Volumenanteils. Zwei Heizflächen wurden einmal mit fünf verschiedenen Heizflächenbelastungen und konstanter Eintrittstemperatur getestet und dann bei vier verschiedenen Wärmeeinträgen und konstanter Eintrittstemperatur. In jedem der Fälle erfolgte die Variation der Massenstromdichte in einem so weiten Bereich, daß das gesamte Feld der Zweiphasen-Siedeströmungen durchfahren werden konnte. Es wurden auch Experimente mit verschiedenen kompressiblen Volumenanteilen bei konstanter Wärmezufuhr, Fluideintrittstemperatur und mittlerer Massenstromdichte durchgeführt. Die Oszillationen der Massenstromdichte und des Druckes am Eintritt in die Heizstrecke sowie deren Wandtemperatur wurden aufgezeichnet. Die Enflüsse der Massenstromdichte, der Fluideintrittstemperatur und der Wärmezufuhr auf Amplituden und Perioden der Druck- und Temperaturoszillationen sind tabellarisch und in Diagrammform dargestellt.

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Dedicated to Prof. Dr.-Ing. F. Mayinger's 60th birthday     

Single bubble growth in saturated pool boiling of binary mixtures

Nucleate pool boiling experiments for binary mixtures, which are consisted of R11 and R113, were performed with constant wall temperature condition. Results for binary mixtures were also compared with pure fluids. A microscale heater array and Wheatstone bridge circuits were used to maintain the constant temperature of the heating surface and to obtain heat flow rate measurements with high temporal and spatial resolutions. Bubble growth images were captured using a high-speed CCD camera synchronized with the heat flow rate measurements.The departure time for binary mixtures was longer than that for pure fluids, and binary mixtures had a higher onset of nucleate boiling (ONB) temperature than pure fluids. In the asymptotic growth region, the bubble growth rate was proportional to a value between t^1/6 and t^1/4. The bubble growth behavior was analyzed to permit comparisons with binary mixtures and pure fluids at the same scale using dimensionless parameters. There was no discernible difference in the bubble growth behavior between binary mixtures and pure fluids for a given ONB temperature. And the departure radius and time were well predicted within a ±30% error.The minimum heat transfer coefficient of binary mixtures occurred near the maximum |y−x| value, and the average required heat flux during bubble growth did not depend on the mass fraction of R11 as more volatile component in binary mixtures. Finally, the results showed that for binary mixtures, a higher ONB temperature had the greatest effect on reducing the heat transfer coefficient.     

Flow boiling enhancement of FC-72 from microporous surfaces in minichannels

The microporous coatings can remarkably enhance the liquid boiling heat transfer. Therefore, they are promising to be introduced into minichannels in the design of the cooling system of high-power microchips. However, the flow boiling heat transfer characteristics from microporous surfaces in the minichannels have not been extensively studied, and the pertinent knowledge is rather fragmentary. The present research is an experimental investigation on flow boiling of a dielectric fluid FC-72 from microporous coating surfaces in horizontal, rectangular minichannels of 0.49, 0.93 and 1.26 mm hydraulic diameter. Effects of coating structural parameters, such as the particle diameter and coating thickness, were investigated to identify the optimum microporous coating for heat transfer enhancement. All microporous surfaces in this paper were found to significantly enhance FC-72 flow boiling heat transfer in minichannels. With the optimum coating, the heat transfer coefficients could be 7-10 times those of the uncoated surface, and the boiling wall temperature was reduced by about 10 K. The flow boiling phenomena in the present minichannels were distinctly different from those in conventional-sized channels, due to the wall confinement effect on vapor bubbles. The confinement effect was evaluated by taking the contributions of the liquid mass flux and channel size into consideration. It was found that the very strong confinement effect was unfavorable with respect to flow boiling enhancement of the microporous coatings in the minichannels.     

Numerical simulation of flow boiling for organic fluid with high saturation temperature in vertical porous coated tube

A semi-analytical model is developed for the prediction of flow boiling heat transfer inside vertical porous coated tubes. The model assumes that the forced convection and nucleate boiling coexist together in the annular flow regime. Conservations of mass, momentum, and energy are used to solve for the liquid film thickness and temperature. The heat flux due to nucleate boiling consists of those inside and outside micro-tunnels. To close the equations, a detailed analysis of various forces acting on the bubble is presented to predict its mean departure diameter. The active nucleation site density of porous layer is determined from the pool boiling correlation by introducing suppression factor. The flow boiling heat transfer coefficients of organic fluid (cumene) with high saturation temperature in a vertical flame-spraying porous coated tube are studied numerically. It is shown that the present model can predict most of the experimental values within ±20%. The numerical results also indicate that the nucleate boiling contribution to the overall heat transfer coefficient decreases from 50% to 15% with vapor quality increasing from 0.1 to 0.5.     

Experimental study of pool temperature effects on nucleate pool boiling

Nucleate pool boiling experiments with constant wall temperature were performed using pure R113 for subcooled, saturated, and superheated pool conditions. A microscale heater array and Wheatstone bridge circuits were used to maintain the constant wall temperature and to measure the instantaneous heat flow rate accurately with high temporal and spatial resolutions. Images of bubble growth were taken at 5000 frames per second using a high-speed CCD camera synchronized with the heat flow rate measurements. The bubble geometry was obtained from the captured bubble images. The effect of the pool conditions on the bubble growth behavior was analyzed using dimensionless parameters for the initial and thermal growth regions. The effect of the pool conditions on the heat flow rate behavior was also examined. The bubble growth behaviors during subcooled, saturated, and superheated pool boiling were analyzed using a modified Jakob number that we newly defined. Dimensionless time and bubble radius parameters with the modified Jakob number characterized the bubble growth behavior well. These phenomena require further analysis for various pool temperature conditions, and this study will provide good experimental data with precise constant wall temperature boundary condition for such works.