Saturated nucleate boiling

Figure 2.28 Experimental heat transfer results for saturated nucleate boiling of sodium from nickel disks at average pressure of 65 mm Hg. (From Marto and Rohsenow, 1966. Copyright 1966 by American Society of Mechanical Engineers, New York. Reprinted with permission.)... 

For diabatic flow, that is, one-component flow with subcooled and saturated nucleate boiling, bubbles may exist at the wall of the tube and in the liquid boundary layer. In an investigation of steam-water flow characteristics at high pressures, Kirillov et al. (1978) showed the effects of mass flux and heat flux on the dependence of wave crest amplitude, 8f, on the steam quality, X (Fig. 3.46). The effects of mass and heat fluxes on the relative frictional pressure losses are shown in Figure 3.47. These experimental data agree quite satisfactorily with Tarasova s recommendation (Sec. 3.5.3). 

M. Cooper. Saturation nucleate boiling. A simple correlation . 1 U.K. National Conference on Heat Transfer, 2, pp. 785-793 (1984). 

D. D. Paul and S. I. Abdel-Khalik, A Statistical Analysis of Saturated Nucleate Boiling Along a Heated Wire, Int. J. Heat Mass Transfer (26) 509-519,1983. 

Paul, D.D. and Abdel-Khalik, S.I. A statistical analysis of saturated nucleate boiling along a heated wire. Int. J. Heat Mass Transfer 26 (1983) 509-519. 

All modules use the 2-fluid model to describe steam-water flows and four non-condensable gases may be transported. The thermal and mechanical non-equilibrium are described. All kinds of two-phase flow patterns are modelled co-current and counter-current flows are modelled with prediction of the counter-current flow limitation. Heat transfer with wall structures and with fuel rods are calculated taking into account all heat transfer processes ( natural and forced convection with liquid, with gas, sub-cooled and saturated nucleate boiling, critical heat flux, film boiling, film condensation). The interfacial heat and mass transfers describe not only the vaporization due to superheated steam and the direct condensation due to sub-cooled liquid, but also the steam condensation or liquid flashing due to meta-stable subcooled steam or superheated liquid. 

With continued heating, the local saturation temperature is reached and the steam bubbles move into the larger, bulk-water nucleate boiling region. Because the resulting steam bubble-water mixture close to the heated metal surface has a lower density than cooler water farther away from the heated surface, the steam bubble-water mixture rises. 

The detail experimental study of flow boiling heat transfer in two-phase heat sinks was performed by Qu and Mudawar (2003b). It was shown that the saturated flow boiling heat transfer coefficient in a micro-channel heat sink is a strong function of mass velocity and depends only weakly on the heat flux. This result, as well as the results by Lee and Lee (2001b), indicates that the dominant mechanism for water micro-channel heat sinks is forced convective boiling but not nucleate boiling. 

For qualitative analysis of the conditions at which the boiling incipience was studied experimentally the parameter D = ATsub.oNB / s may be used. Depending on the value of D, the channels can be subdivided into two groups D < 1 and D < .. When D < D = 0.125—0.25) the onset of nucleate boiling occurred at a bulk temperature significantly less than saturation. When D nucleate boiling occurred at values of the bulk temperature close to saturation. 

The maximum heat flux achievable with nucleate boiling is known as the critical heat flux. In a system where the surface temperature is not self-limiting, such as a nuclear reactor fuel element, operation above the critical flux will result in a rapid increase in the surface temperature, and in the extreme situation the surface will melt. This phenomenon is known as burn-out . The heating media used for process plant are normally self-limiting for example, with steam the surface temperature can never exceed the saturation temperature. Care must be taken in the design of electrically heated vaporisers to ensure that the critical flux can never be exceeded. 

Saturated Nucleate Flow Boiling of Liquid Metals 265... 

Saturated nucleate flow boiling of ordinary liquids. To maintain nucleate boiling on the surface, it is necessary that the wall temperature exceed a critical value for a specified heat flux. The stability of nucleate boiling in the presence of a temperature gradient, as discussed in Section 4.2.1.1, is also valid for the suppres-... 

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