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Flow Boiling in Tubes

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Handbook of Thermal Science and Engineering

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Abstract

Flow boiling in tubes is a highly efficient heat transfer regime, which is used for thermal management in various engineered systems with high energy density, from power electronics to heat exchangers in power plants and nuclear reactors. Flow boiling can occur in different two-phase flow patterns under a wide range of flow conditions, including transient and developing flows. Thus, analysis of flow boiling in tubes is built upon a broad knowledge base on related processes in two-phase flow and heat transfer mechanisms that have been a subject of numerous experimental, theoretical, and computational investigations over many decades. The main quantities of interest for design, operation, and safety of such systems are boiling heat transfer and the limit of coolability associated with boiling crisis and burnout that occur at critical heat fluxes. This chapter provides an overview of a wide range of phenomena that govern heat transfer in flow boiling in tubes, highlighting the multiscale complexity of flow boiling. The main content of the chapter discusses approaches to modeling of flow boiling, including traditional one-dimensional models and an emerging class of multidimensional treatments. Associated issues, remaining uncertainties, and perspectives are also discussed.

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Abbreviations

A :

(tube) cross-sectional area; interfacial area

d :

bubble diameter

c p :

heat capacity at constant pressure

c v :

heat capacity at constant volume

D :

tube inner diameter

e :

internal energy

f :

friction factor

f TP :

friction factor for two-phase flow

g :

gravitational acceleration

G :

mass flux

h :

enthalpy; heat transfer coefficient

k :

thermal conductivity; turbulent kinetic energy

p :

pressure

q :

heat flux

Q :

flow rate per unit periphery of the liquid film in annular flow

S :

slip ratio

t :

time

T :

temperature

u :

velocity

u gs :

gas superficial velocity

u ls :

liquid superficial velocity

v :

specific volume

x :

thermodynamic quality

z :

flow direction

α :

phasic fraction by volume

Γ:

interfacial mass change rate

δ :

film thickness

ε :

turbulent dissipation rate

θ :

angle

μ :

dynamic viscosity

ρ :

density

σ :

surface tension

ϕ :

representation of a general scalar quantity / contact angle

\( {\Phi}_{fo}^2 \) :

two-phase frictional multiplier

c :

convective heat transfer component

e :

evaporation heat transfer component

q :

quenching heat transfer component

t :

turbulence

b :

bubble

f :

g property difference between fluid and gas (both in saturation state)

g :

gas

i :

interface

l :

liquid

r :

relative motion

sat :

saturation state

sub :

subcooled state

sup :

superheat state

w :

wall

Nu :

Nusselt number (=hD/k)

Pr :

Prandtl number (=c p μ/k)

Re :

Reynolds number (=ρvD/μ)

Re b :

Bubble Reynolds number (=ρ l (v g  − v l )d/μ l )

We :

Weber number (=ρv 2 d/σ)

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC, USA

    Yang Liu & Nam Dinh

Authors
  1. Yang Liu
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  2. Nam Dinh
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Correspondence to Yang Liu .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA

    Francis A. Kulacki

Section Editor information

  1. Politecnica/COPPE, Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro,, Rio de Janeiro, Brasília, Brazil

    Renato Cotta

  2. Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of California, Riverside, California, USA

    Kambiz Vafai

  3. Herff College of Engineering, The University of Memphis, Memphis, Tennessee, USA

    Sumanta Acharya

  4. Gas Technology Institute, Illinois, Illinois, USA

    Yaroslav Chudnovsky

  5. Rm 8260, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada

    Javad Mostaghimi

  6. Cekmeköy Campus, Özyegin University, Çekmeköy - Istanbul, Turkey

    Pinar Mengüc

  7. Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, University of California Los Angeles, Los Angeles, California, USA

    Vijay K. Dhir

  8. Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, University of California Los Angeles, 48-121 E4, Box 951597, 900095-1597, Los Angeles, California, USA

    Vijay K. Dhir

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Liu, Y., Dinh, N. (2017). Flow Boiling in Tubes. In: Kulacki, F. (eds) Handbook of Thermal Science and Engineering. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-32003-8_47-1

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