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Development of a small-channel nucleate-boiling heat transfer correlation

Technical Report ·
DOI:https://doi.org/10.2172/10197012· OSTI ID:10197012
Development of an improved semimechanistic-based set of correlation parameters for nucleation-dominant flow-boiling heat transfer in small channels is described. Formulation of these parameters is on the basis of a recently published open-literature model for vapor bubble growth at a heated surface. This work is part of a program directed at obtaining an understanding of the physical mechanisms that influence boiling in compact heat exchangers through the use of high-speed video and microscope optics to characterize bubble nucleation, growth, and interaction with the confining walls of small heat transfer passages. The correlation parameters presented here represent the first step in the development of an improved boiling correlation for geometrically confined small-channel flows. In such flows, the nucleating bubbles can become nominally the same size as the channel cross section, thereby invalidating existing correlations that are based on large-channel data. Initial efforts to correlate small-channel-boiling data obtained at Argonne National Laboratory from nontransparent electrically heated metal tube tests appear promising.
Research Organization:
Argonne National Lab., IL (United States)
Sponsoring Organization:
USDOE, Washington, DC (United States)
DOE Contract Number:
W-31109-ENG-38
OSTI ID:
10197012
Report Number(s):
ANL--94/32; ON: DE95004243
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English

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