Pool boiling heat transfer in binary mixtures of ammonia/water: Effect of heat of dilution and dissolution on heat transfer coefficient

Nucleate boiling heat transfer coefficients were measured on a horizontal heated wire during the pool boiling of non‐azeotropic mixtures of ammonia/water. The experiment was carried out at pressures of 0.4 and 0.7 MPa, at heat fluxes below 2.0 × 10⁶ W/m², and over a range of mass fraction. The heat transfer coefficients in the mixtures were smaller than those in single‐component substances. No existing correlation is found to predict boiling heat transfer coefficients over the range of mass fraction of interest. In the mixtures of the ammonia/water, the heats of dilution and dissolution were generated near a liquid surface while vapor with a rich concentration of ammonia was condensed and then was diffused into the bulk liquid; while in most other mixtures, little heat was generated during any dilution and dissolution. In relation to the heat generated, the effect of the heats of dilution and dissolution on pressure and temperature in a system (pressure vessel) is shown herein. © 2002 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Heat Trans Asian Res, 31(4): 272–283, 2002; Published online in Wiley InterScience ( www.interscience.wiley.com ). DOI 10.1002/htj.10034