Film boiling heat-transfer coefficient

Heat transfer by nucleate boiling is an important mechanism in the vaporization of liqmds. It occurs in the vaporization of liquids in kettle-type and natural-circulation reboilers commonly usea in the process industries. High rates of heat transfer per unit of area (heat flux) are obtained as a result of bubble formation at the liquid-solid interface rather than from mechanical devices external to the heat exchanger. There are available several expressions from which reasonable values of the film coefficients may be obtained. 

Stroebe, G., Baker, E., and Badger, W., Boiling film heat transfer coefficients in a long tube vertical eavporator, Trans. Am. Inst. Chem. Engrs. 35,17 (1939). 

The equation given by Bromley (1950) can be used to estimate the heat-transfer coefficient for film boiling on tubes. Heat transfer in the film-boiling region will be controlled by conduction through the film of vapour, and Bromley s equation is similar to the Nusselt equation for condensation, where conduction is occurring through the film of condensate. 

The boiling film coefficient for a kettle reboiler can be estimated from the correlation for pool boiling. Equation 15.96 gives one such method due to Palen15. However, the correlation requires the heat flux to be known, and therefore the heat transfer area to be known. Hence the calculation will need to be iterative. An initial estimate of the overall heat transfer coefficient of 2000 W-m 2-K 1 gives ... 

The calculated heat duty does not agree with the specified duty of 1.351 x 106 W. To make the duty balance requires the heat transfer area to be adjusted by trial and error. At each value of A, a new heat flux and boiling film coefficient is calculated. This allows the new overall heat transfer coefficient to be calculated, and so on, until the calculated heat duty agrees with a specified duty. This can be readily done using a spreadsheet solver. The result is ... 

Effect of pressure Figure 2.40 shows the heat transfer coefficients for film boiling of potassium on a horizontal type 316 stainless steel surface (Padilla, 1966). Curve A shows the experimental results curve B is curve A minus the radiant heat contribution (approximate because of appreciable uncertainties in the emissivities of the stainless steel and potassium surfaces). Curve C represents Eq. (2-150) with the proportionality constant arbitrarily increased to 0.68 and the use of the equilibrium value of kG as given by Lee et al. (1969). 

Summary of experimental data Film boiling correlations have been quite successfully developed with ordinary liquids. Since the thermal properties of metal vapors are not markedly different from those of ordinary liquids, it can be expected that the accepted correlations are applicable to liquid metals with a possible change of proportionality constants. In addition, film boiling data for liquid metals generally show considerably higher heat transfer coefficients than is predicted by the available theoretical correlations for hc. Radiant heat contribution obviously contributes to some of the difference (Fig. 2.40). There is a third mode of heat transfer that does not exist with ordinary liquids, namely, heat transport by the combined process of chemical dimerization and mass diffusion (Eq. 2-162). 

With a number of heat sensitive liquids it is necessary to work at low temperatures, and this is effected by boiling under a vacuum, as indeed is the case in the last unit of a multieffect system. Operation under a vacuum increases the temperature difference between the steam and boiling liquid as shown in Table 14.1 and therefore tends to increase the heat flux. At the same time, the reduced boiling point usually results in a more viscous material and a lower film heat transfer coefficient. 

The problem of burn-out prediction is a difficult one, and one on which a great deal of experimental work is being carried out, particularly in connection with nuclear-reactor development. Much of the earlier literature is rather confused, due to the fact that the mechanics of the burn-out were not carefully defined. Silvestri (S8) has discussed the definitions applicable to burn-out heat flux. It appears possible to define two distinctly different kinds of burn-out, one due to a transition from nucleate to film boiling, and one occurring at the liquid deficient point of the forced-convection region. The present discussion treats only the latter type of burn-out fluxes. The burn-out point in this instance is usually determined by the sudden rise in wall temperature and the corresponding drop in heat flux and heat-transfer coefficient which occur at high qualities. 

---