Enhanced boiling heat transfer in restricted spaces of a compact tube bundle with enhanced tubes

In flooded-type tube bundle evaporators with smooth tubes and general tube gaps, both wall superheat and heat flux are generally quite low and boiling cannot occur on the heated tubes. But when the tube gap is quite small or the enhanced heat transfer tubes are employed, the incipient boiling can occur at low heat flux levels and results in a significant heat transfer enhancement effect. This study investigates experimentally enhancement effects by the restricted space comprising the compact tube bundle and the enhanced tubes for boiling heat transfer of pure water and salt-water mixtures under atmospheric pressure. The experimental results show that the small tube gaps can greatly enhance boiling heat transfer for the compact enhanced tube bundle.