Experimental and theoretical study of orientation effects on flow boiling CHF

The effects of orientation on flow boiling critical heat flux (CHF) were investigated using high-speed video and microphotographic techniques. Interfacial features were measured just prior to CHF and statistically analyzed. A dominant wavy vapor layer regime was observed for all relatively high-velocities and most orientations, while several other regimes were encountered at low velocities, in downflow and/or downward-facing heated wall orientations. The interfacial lift-off model was modified and used to predict the orientation effects on CHF for the dominant wavy vapor layer regime. The photographic study revealed a fairly continuous wavy vapor layer travelling along the heated wall while permitting liquid contact only in wetting fronts, located in the troughs of the interfacial waves. The waves, which were generated at an upstream location, had a tendency to preserve a curvature ratio as they propagated along the heated wall. CHF commenced when wetting fronts near the outlet were lifted off the wall. This occurred when the momentum of vapor normal to the wall exceeded the pressure force associated with interfacial curvature. The interfacial lift-off model is shown to be very effective at capturing the overall dependence of CHF on orientation.     

Experimental assessment of the effects of body force, surface tension force, and inertia on flow boiling CHF

The interfacial instabilities important to the modeling of critical heat flux (CHF) in reduced-gravity systems are sensitive to even minute body forces, especially for small coolant velocities. Understanding these effects is of paramount importance to both the reliability and safety of two-phase thermal management loops proposed for future space and planetary-based thermal systems. Unfortunately, reduced gravity systems cannot be accurately simulated in 1g ground-based experiments. However, ground-based experiments can help isolate the effects of the various forces (body force, surface tension force and inertia) which influence flow boiling CHF. In this project, the effects of the component of body force perpendicular to a heated wall were examined by conducting 1g flow boiling experiments at different orientations. Boiling experiments were performed using FC-72 in vertical and inclined upflow and downflow, as well as horizontal flow, and with the heated surface facing upward or downward relative to gravity. CHF was very sensitive to orientation for flow velocities below 0.2 m/s and near-saturated flow; CHF values for downflow and downward-facing heated surface were much smaller than for upflow and upward-facing surface orientations. Increasing velocity and subcooling dampened the effects of flow orientation on CHF. For saturated flow, the vapor layer characteristics fell into six different regimes: wavy vapor layer, pool-boiling, stratification, vapor stagnation, vapor counterflow, and vapor concurrent flow. The wavy vapor layer regime encompassed all subcooled and high-velocity saturated conditions at all orientations, as well as low-velocity upflow orientations. Prior CHF correlations and models were compared, and shown to predict the CHF data with varying degrees of success.     

Critical heat flux in subcooled flow boiling with water in a tube with axially nonuniform heating

Critical heat flux (CHF) in subcooled flow boiling under axially nonuniform heating conditions was experimentally investigated using a tube heated with a dc power source. The thickness of the tube wall in the axial direction was varied to attain axially nonuniform heating. The different thicknesses, therefore, separated the tube into regions of high heat flux and regions of low heat flux. The lengths of these regions of the tube were also varied to study the effect on the CHF. The objective of this system is to initiate boiling in the high-heat-flux region, thus increasing heat transfer, and to interrupt the bubble boundary layer in the low-heat-flux region. Because it is the initiation of boiling that increases heat transfer, the performance of such a system is linked to its effectiveness in repeatedly interrupting and re-establishing the bubble boundary layer. Our experiments, involving tubes that had sections of different thicknesses and different lengths, showed that when the heat flux in the low-heat-flux region was below the net vapor generation (NVG) heat flux, this system enhanced the CHF, but not when it was above the NVG. Also, for relatively short low-heat-flux regions, the CHF was not enhanced, presumably because there was insufficient time to interrupt the bubble boundary layer. © 1998 Scripta Technica, Heat Trans Jpn Res, 27(2): 169–178, 1998     

Interfacial heat transfer during subcooled flow boiling

In order to develop a mechanistic model for the subcooled flow boiling process, the key issues which must be addressed are wall heat flux partitioning and interfacial (condensation) heat transfer. The sink term in the two-fluid models for void fraction prediction is provided by the condensation rate at the vapor-liquid interface. Low pressure subcooled flow boiling experiments, using water, were performed using a vertical flat plate heater to investigate the bubble collapse process. A high-speed CCD camera was used to record the bubble collapse in the bulk subcooled liquid. Based on the analyses of these digitized images, bubble collapse rates and the associated heat transfer rate were determined. The experimental data were in turn used to correlate the bubble collapse rate and the interfacial heat transfer rate. These correlations are functions of bubble Reynolds number, liquid Prandtl number, Jacob number, and Fourier number. The correlations account for both the effect of forced convection heat transfer and thickening of the thermal boundary layer as the vapor bubble condenses which in turn makes the condensation heat transfer time dependent. Comparison of the measured experimental data with those predicted from the correlations show that predictions are well within ±25% of the experimentally measured values. These correlations have also been compared with those available in the literature.     

Photographic study and modeling of critical heat flux in horizontal flow boiling with inlet vapor void

This study explores the mechanism of flow boiling critical heat flux (CHF) in a 2.5 mm × 5 mm horizontal channel that is heated along its bottom 2.5 mm wall. Using FC-72 as working fluid, experiments were performed with mass velocities ranging from 185–1600 kg/m²s. A key objective of this study is to assess the influence of inlet vapor void on CHF. This influence is examined with the aid of high-speed video motion analysis of interfacial features at heat fluxes up to CHF as well as during the CHF transient. The flow is observed to enter the heated portion of the channel separated into two layers, with vapor residing above liquid. Just prior to CHF, a third vapor layer begins to develop at the leading edge of the heated wall beneath the liquid layer. Because of buoyancy effects and mixing between the three layers, the flow is less discernible in the downstream region of the heated wall, especially at high mass velocities. The observed behavior is used to construct a new separated three-layer model that facilitates the prediction of individual layer velocities and thicknesses. Combining the predictions of the new three-layer model with the interfacial lift-off CHF model provides good CHF predictions for all mass velocities, evidenced by a MAE of 11.63%.     

CHF determination for high-heat flux phase change cooling system incorporating both micro-channel flow and jet impingement

This paper explores the subcooled nucleate boiling and critical heat flux (CHF) characteristics of a hybrid cooling module that combines the cooling attributes of micro-channel flow and jet impingement. A test module was constructed and tested using HFE-7100 as working fluid. Increasing the coolant’s flow rate and/or subcooling shifted both the onset of boiling (ONB) and CHF to higher heat fluxes and higher wall temperatures. The hybrid module yielded heat fluxes as high as 1127 W/cm², which is the highest value ever achieved for a dielectric coolant at near atmospheric pressure. It is shown the hybrid cooling configuration involves complex interactions between circular jets and micro-channel flow, and unusual spatial variations of void fraction and liquid velocity. These variations are ascertained using the Developing Homogeneous Layer Model (DHLM) in which the micro-channel flow is described as consisting of a homogeneous two-phase layer along the heated wall and a bulk liquid layer. CHF is determined by a superpositioning technique that consists of dividing the heated wall into two portions, one dominated by jet impingement and the other micro-channel flow. This technique is shown to be highly effective at predicting the CHF data for the hybrid cooling configuration.     

Study on the mechanism of critical heat flux enhancement for subcooled flow boiling in a tube with internal twisted tape under nonuniform heating conditions

Critical heat flux (CHF) of subcooled flow boiling with water in a tube with an internal twisted tape under nonuniform heating conditions was experimentally investigated by direct current heating of a stainless steel tube. The boiling curve of the subcooled flow under a high heat flux was measured to confirm the characteristics of the nucleate boiling. The net vapor generation (NVG) point almost agreed with the Levy correlation. The increase of the CHF with an internal twisted tape under nonuniform heating conditions was explained by assuming an alternate development and disruption of the bubble boundary layer in which the bubble boundary layer is assumed to be disrupted when the heat flux is lower than the NVG heat flux. © 1997 Scripta Technica, Inc. Heat Trans Jpn Res, 25(5): 293–307, 1996     

Flow boiling CHF in microgravity

Poor understanding of flow boiling in microgravity has recently emerged as a key obstacle to the development of many types of power generation and life support systems intended for space exploration. This study examines flow boiling CHF in microgravity that was achieved in parabolic flight experiments with FC-72 onboard NASA’s KC-135 turbojet. At high heat fluxes, bubbles quickly coalesced into fairly large vapor patches along the heated wall. As CHF was approached, these patches grew in length and formed a wavy vapor layer that propagated along the wall, permitting liquid access only in the wave troughs. CHF was triggered by separation of the liquid-vapor interface from the wall due to intense vapor effusion in the troughs. This behavior is consistent with, and accurately predicted by the Interfacial Lift-off CHF Model. It is shown that at low velocities CHF in microgravity is significantly smaller than in horizontal flow on earth. CHF differences between the two environments decreased with increasing velocity, culminating in virtual convergence at about 1.5 m/s. This proves it is possible to design inertia-dominated systems by maintaining flow velocities above the convergence limit. Such systems allow data, correlations, and/or models developed on earth to be safely implemented in space systems.     

Experimental and theoretical study of critical heat flux in vertical upflow with inlet vapor void

This study explores the mechanism of flow boiling critical heat flux (CHF) for FC-72 in a 2.5 mm × 5 mm vertical upflow channel that is heated along its 2.5 mm sidewall downstream of an adiabatic development section. Unlike most prior CHF studies, where the working fluid enters the channel in liquid state, the present study concerns saturated inlet conditions with finite vapor void. Temperature measurements and high-speed video imaging techniques are used to investigate the influence of the inlet vapor void on interfacial behavior at heat fluxes up to CHF as well during the CHF transient. The flow entering the heated portion of the channel consists of a thin liquid layer covering the entire perimeter surrounding a large central vapor core. Just prior to CHF, a fairly continuous wavy vapor layer begins to develop between the liquid layer covering the heated wall and the heated wall itself, resulting in a complex four-layer flow consisting of the liquid layer covering the insulated walls, the central vapor core, the now separated liquid layer adjacent to the heated wall, and the newly formed wavy vapor layer along the heated wall. This behavior in captured in a new separated control-volume-based model that facilities the determination of axial variations of thicknesses and mean velocities of the four layers. Incorporating the results of this model in a modified form of the Interfacial Lift-off CHF Model is shown to provide fairly good predictions of CHF data for mass velocities between 185 and 1600 kg/m² s, evidenced by a mean absolute error of 24.52%.     

Measurement of surface dryout near heating surface at high heat fluxes in subcooled pool boiling

The authors have conducted measurements of liquid–vapor behavior in the vicinity of a heating surface for saturated and subcooled pool boiling on an upward-facing copper surface by using a conductance probe method. A previous paper [A. Ono, H. Sakashita, Liquid–vapor structure near heating surface at high heat flux in subcooled pool boiling, Int. J. Heat Mass Transfer 50 (2007) 3481–3489] reported that thicknesses of a liquid rich layer (a so-called macrolayer) forming in subcooled boiling are comparable to or thicker than those formed near the critical heat flux (CHF) in saturated boiling. This paper examines the dryout behavior of the heating surface by utilizing the feature that a thin conductance probe placed very close to the heating surface can detect the formation and dryout of the macrolayer. It was found that the dryout of the macrolayer formed beneath a vapor mass occurs in the latter half of the hovering period of the vapor mass. Two-dimensional measurements conducted at 121 grid points in a 1-mm × 1-mm area at the center of the heating surface showed that the dryout commences at specific areas and spreads over the heating surface as the heat flux approaches the CHF. Furthermore, transient measurements of wall void fractions from nucleate boiling to transition boiling were conducted under the transient heating mode, showing that the wall void fraction has small values (<10%) in the nucleate boiling region, and then steeply increases in the transition boiling region. These findings strongly suggest that the macrolayer dryout model is the most appropriate model of the CHF for saturated and subcooled pool boiling of water on upward facing copper surfaces.     

CHF model for subcooled flow boiling in Earth gravity and microgravity

This study is the first attempt at extending the Interfacial Lift-off CHF Model to subcooled flow boiling conditions. A new CHF database was generated for FC-72 from ground tests as well as from microgravity tests that were performed in parabolic flight trajectory. These tests also included high-speed video imaging and analysis of the liquid–vapor interface during the CHF transient. Both the CHF data and the video records played a vital role in constructing and validating the extended CHF model. The fundamental difference between the original Interfacial Lift-off Model, which was developed for saturated flow boiling, and the newly extended model is the partitioning of wall energy between sensible and latent heat for subcooled flow boiling. This partitioning is modeled with the aid of a new “heat utility ratio”. Using this ratio, the extended Interfacial Lift-off Model is shown to effectively predict both saturated and subcooled flow boiling CHF in Earth gravity and in microgravity.     

Critical heat flux for subcooled flow boiling in micro-channel heat sinks

Critical heat flux (CHF) was measured and examined with high-speed video for subcooled flow boiling in micro-channel heat sinks using HFE 7100 as working fluid. High subcooling was achieved by pre-cooling the working fluid using a secondary low-temperature refrigeration system. The high subcooling greatly reduced both bubble departure diameter and void fraction, and precluded flow pattern transitions beyond the bubbly regime. CHF was triggered by vapor blanket formation along the micro-channel walls despite the presence of abundant core liquid, which is consistent with the mechanism of Departure from Nucleate Boiling (DNB). CHF increased with increasing mass velocity and/or subcooling and decreasing hydraulic diameter for a given total mass flow rate. A pre-mature type of CHF was caused by vapor backflow into the heat sink’s inlet plenum at low mass velocities and small inlet subcoolings, and was associated with significant fluctuations in inlet and outlet pressure, as well as wall temperature. A systematic technique is developed to modify existing CHF correlations to more accurately account for features unique to micro-channel heat sinks, including rectangular cross-section, three-sided heating, and flow interaction between micro-channels. This technique is shown to be successful at correlating micro-channel heat sink data corresponding to different hydraulic diameters, mass velocities and inlet temperatures.     

Forced convective boiling of subcooled water at high velocity

This paper deals with heat transfer and critical heat flux (CHF) in subcooled flow boiling offering a fundamental study aimed at high heat flux cooling. Experiments with water at 0.12 MPa were conducted in a mass velocity range from 500 kg/m²s to 15,000 kg/m²s (velocity from 0.5 m/s to 15 m/s) and subcooling from 20 K to 60 K. A sheet of stainless steel (80 mm in heated length, 10 mm wide, and 0.2 mm thick) was mounted flush with a sidewall of a vertical rectangular channel (cross-section 20 mm by 30 mm) and heated directly using direct current. It was found that mass velocity and subcooling strongly affect CHF and heat transfer in non-boiling convection and partial nucleate boiling regimes. These two parameters have no appreciable influence in the fully developed nucleate boiling regime. In the parameter range used, CHF reached 15 MW/m². Boiling bubble behavior just prior to reaching CHF was found to vary depending on mass velocity and subcooling. 1998 Scripta Technica, Heat Trans Jpn Res, 27(5): 376–389, 1998     

Critical heat flux under conditions of high subcooling and high velocity at atmospheric pressure

A quantitative analysis of critical heat flux (CHF) under high mass flux with high subcooling at atmospheric pressure was successfully carried out by applying a new transition region model for a macro-water sublayer on heated walls to the existing model of a vapor blanket over the macro-water sublayer. The CHF correlation proposed in this study could predict well the experimental data obtained for water mass flux of 940 to 20,300 kg/m²s using circulate tubes 2 to 4 mm in diameter and 30 to 100 mm in length with inlet subcooling of 30 to 90 °C and rectangular channels heated from one side with gaps of 3 to 20 mm, length of 50 to 305 mm, and inlet subcooling of 30 to 77 °C and revealed a unique feature of CHF, namely, that the effects of wall friction of subcooled boiling flow and the velocity of the steam blanket above the macro-water sublayer at atmospheric pressure become the dominant factors while they were not dominant at higher pressures. © 1997 Scripta Technica, Inc Heat Trans Jpn Res, 26 (1): 16–29, 1997     

Temperature measurements near a heating surface at high heat fluxes in subcooled pool boiling

In previous papers (Int J Heat Mass Transfer, 2008;50:3481–3489, 2009;52: 814–821), the authors conducted measurements of liquid–vapor structures in the vicinity of a heating surface for subcooled pool boiling on an upward‐facing copper surface by using a conducting probe method. We reported that the macrolayer dryout model is the most appropriate model of the CHF and that the reason why the CHF increases with increasing subcooling is most likely that a thick macrolayer is able to form beneath large vapor masses and the lowest heat flux of the vapor mass region shifts towards the higher heat flux. To develop a mechanistic model of the CHF for subcooled boiling, therefore, it is necessary to elucidate the effects of local subcooling on boiling behaviors in the vicinity of a heating surface. This paper measured local temperatures close to a heating surface using a micro‐thermocouple at high heat fluxes for water boiling on an upward‐facing surface in the 0 to 40 K range of subcooling. A value for the effective subcooling, defined as the local subcooling during the period while vapor masses are being formed was estimated from the detected bottom peaks of the temperature fluctuations. It was established that the effective subcooling adjacent to the surface remains at considerably lower values than the bulk liquid subcooling. This suggests that, from nucleation to coalescence, the subcooling of a bulk liquid has a smaller effect on the behavior of primary bubbles than the extent of the subcooling would appear to suggest. An empirical correlation of the effective subcooling is proposed to provide a step towards quantitative modeling of the CHF for subcooled boiling. © 2009 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Heat Trans Asian Res; Published online in Wiley InterScience ( www.interscience.wiley.com ). DOI 10.1002/htj.20277     

Wall heat flux partitioning during subcooled forced flow film boiling of water on a vertical surface

Subcooled flow film boiling experiments were conducted on a vertical flat plate, 30.5 cm in height, and 3.175 cm wide with forced convective upflow of subcooled water at atmospheric pressure. Data have been obtained for mass fluxes ranging from 0 to 700 kg/m²s, inlet subcoolings ranging from 0 to 25 °C and wall superheats ranging from 200 to 400 °C. Correlations for wall heat transfer coefficient and wall heat flux partitioning were developed as part of this work. These correlations derive their support from simultaneous measurements of the wall heat flux, fluid temperature profiles, liquid side heat flux and interfacial wave behavior during steady state flow film boiling. A new correlation for the film collapse temperature was also deduced by considering the limiting case of heat flux to the subcooled liquid being equal to the wall heat flux. The premise of this deduction is that film collapse under subcooled conditions occurs when there is no net vapor generation. These correlations have also been compared with the data and correlations available in the literature.     

Flow boiling of liquid nitrogen in micro-tubes: Part I – The onset of nucleate boiling, two-phase flow instability and two-phase flow pressure drop

This paper is the first portion of a two-part study concerning the flow boiling of liquid nitrogen in the micro-tubes with the diameters of 0.531, 0.834, 1.042 and 1.931 mm. The contents mainly include the onset of nucleate boiling (ONB), two-phase flow instability and two-phase flow pressure drop. At ONB, mass flux drops suddenly while pressure drop increases, and apparent wall temperature hysteresis in the range of 1.0–5.0 K occurs. Modified Thom model can predict the wall superheat and heat flux at ONB. Moreover, stable long-period (50–60 s) and large-amplitude oscillations of mass flux, pressure drop and wall temperatures are observed at ONB for the 1.042 and 1.931 mm micro-tubes. Block phenomenon at ONB is also observed in the cases of high mass flux. The regions for the oscillations, block and stable flow boiling are classified. A physical model of vapor patch coalesced at the outlet is proposed to explain the ONB oscillations and block. Vapor generation caused by the flash evaporation is so large that it should be taken into account to precisely depict the variation of mass quality along the micro-tube. The adiabatic and diabatic two-phase flow pressure drop characteristics in micro-tubes are investigated and compared with four models including homogeneous model and three classical separated flow models. Contrary to the conventional channels, homogeneous model yields better prediction than three separated flow models. It can be explained by the fact that the density ratio of liquid to vapor for nitrogen is comparatively small, and the liquid and vapor phases may mix well in micro-tube at high mass flux due to small viscosity of liquid nitrogen, which leads to a more homogeneous flow. Part II of this study will focus on the heat transfer characteristics and critical heat flux (CHF) of flow boiling of liquid nitrogen in micro-tubes.     

Micro‐bubble emission boiling from horizontal and vertical surfaces to subcooled parallel flow water

Heat removal of more than 10 MW/m² in heat flux has been required in high‐heat‐generation equipment in nuclear fusion reactors. In some conditions of water subcooling and velocity, there appears an extraordinary high heat flux boiling in the transition boiling region. This boiling regime is called micro‐bubble emission boiling (MEB) because many micro‐bubbles are spouted from the heat transfer surface accompanying a huge sound. The study intent is to obtain heat transfer performance of MEB in horizontal and vertical heated surfaces to parallel flow of subcooled water, comparing with CHF of this system. Three types of MEB with different heat transfer performance and bubble behavior are observed according to the flow velocity and liquid subcooling. © 2003 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Heat Trans Asian Res, 32(2): 130–140, 2003; Published online in Wiley InterScience ( www.interscience.wiley.com ). DOI 10.1002/htj.10077     

Capillary column enhanced CHF microgravity flow boiling

Flow boiling heat transfer under microgravity conditions can be extended and enhanced by means of using porous stacks, or capillary columns, arranged on top of a flat heated surface. Under these conditions, body forces are negligible to remove the generated vapor away from the hot surface, which eventually hinders liquid from reaching it. It is possible to increase the critical heat flux (CHF) by having porous stacks symmetrically arranged on this surface; which draws the liquid phase towards it by means of capillary forces. Various flow regimes in the capillary enhanced surface flow boiling can be identified. These include: the regime where the liquid is supplied between the columns, the regime where the liquid flow is controlled by liquid capturing and the viscous drag-capillarity in the columns, and the critical heat flux. For the theoretical model, the expression for the interfacial lift-off model critical heat flux was interpreted based on customizable parameters instead of those imposed by the physics of the flow. This study indicates a potential improvement in CHF by having an inter-column spacing smaller than the critical wavelength for a plain surface. There is also a potential benefit of having the wetting contact to wavelength ratio to be larger than the constant of 0.2 found in experimental studies. The CHF regime can occur by a limitation of the stacks to have access to the liquid phase, as it happens when they are completely submerged in a vapor phase, or by reaching the maximum capillary pressure drop in the stack (as per the Darcy–Ergun momentum equation), or by reaching an entrainment limit of the vapor flow passed the capillary columns. Therefore the critical heat flux can also be extended as long as the capillary columns protrude over the vapor layer and their viscous capillary and entrainment limits are not reached.     

Effects of jet pattern on two-phase performance of hybrid micro-channel/micro-circular-jet-impingement thermal management scheme

This paper explores the two-phase cooling performance of a hybrid cooling scheme in which a linear array of micro-jets deposits liquid gradually along each channel of a micro-channel heat sink. The study also examines the benefits of utilizing differently sized jets along the micro-channel. Three micro-jet patterns, decreasing-jet-size (relative to center of channel), equal-jet-size and increasing-jet-size, were tested using HFE 7100 as working fluid. It is shown feeding subcooled coolant into the micro-channel in a gradual manner greatly reduces vapor growth along the micro-channel. Void fraction increased between jets but decreased sharply beneath each jet, creating a repeated pattern of growth followed by coalesce, and netting only a mild overall increase in void fraction along the flow direction with predominantly liquid flow at outlet. Unlike most flow boiling situations, where pressure drop increases with increasing heat flux, pressure drop in the hybrid configurations actually decreased and reached a minimum just before CHF. This behavior is closely related to the low void fraction and predominantly liquid flow. Pressure drop in the two-phase region is highest for the equal-jet-size pattern, followed by the decreasing-jet-size and increasing-jet-size patterns, respectively. Low void fraction increased the effectiveness of the hybrid cooling schemes in utilizing bulk liquid subcooling and therefore helped achieve high CHF values. The decreasing-jet-size pattern, which had the highest outlet subcooling, achieved the highest CHF. A single correlation was constructed for the three jet patterns, which relates the two-phase heat transfer coefficient to heat flux and wall superheat.