When a liquid undergoes sudden reduction in the surrounding pressure below its saturation pressure, the liquid then enters in a metastable state. In order to regain equilibrium, part of the liquid evaporates quickly i...When a liquid undergoes sudden reduction in the surrounding pressure below its saturation pressure, the liquid then enters in a metastable state. In order to regain equilibrium, part of the liquid evaporates quickly in a phenomenon called ＂flash evaporation＂, and the excess sensible heat contained in the liquid is converted into latent heat of vaporization. Therefore, temperatures of both the liquid and the generated vapor decline to the saturation temperature for the reduced pressure. As the heat and mass transfer occur in direct contact between the liquid and its own vapors, the process involves a very high heat transfer rate which makes it suitable for exchanging heat between sources of relatively small temperature difference. Moreover, dispensability of the heat exchange surfaces in this process is a considerable advantage as these surfaces constitute major part of the total system expenses in addition to the associated maintenance problems, especially when dealing with corrosive fluids such like seawater in the thermal desalination processes and in the OTEC （ocean thermal energy conversion） systems. This paper reports on the heat flux variation profiles during the flash evaporation of superheated water jets at various flow conditions. Heat flax was found to grow with time attaining a peak value before it starts to decrease monotonically.展开更多
文摘When a liquid undergoes sudden reduction in the surrounding pressure below its saturation pressure, the liquid then enters in a metastable state. In order to regain equilibrium, part of the liquid evaporates quickly in a phenomenon called ＂flash evaporation＂, and the excess sensible heat contained in the liquid is converted into latent heat of vaporization. Therefore, temperatures of both the liquid and the generated vapor decline to the saturation temperature for the reduced pressure. As the heat and mass transfer occur in direct contact between the liquid and its own vapors, the process involves a very high heat transfer rate which makes it suitable for exchanging heat between sources of relatively small temperature difference. Moreover, dispensability of the heat exchange surfaces in this process is a considerable advantage as these surfaces constitute major part of the total system expenses in addition to the associated maintenance problems, especially when dealing with corrosive fluids such like seawater in the thermal desalination processes and in the OTEC （ocean thermal energy conversion） systems. This paper reports on the heat flux variation profiles during the flash evaporation of superheated water jets at various flow conditions. Heat flax was found to grow with time attaining a peak value before it starts to decrease monotonically.
