Analysis of Bubble Behavior in a Horizontal Rectangular Channel under Subcooled Flow Boiling Conditions

Experiments on subcooled flow boiling have been conducted using water in a rectangular flow channel.Similar to the coolant channel in internal combustion engines(IC engines),the flow channel in this experiment was asymmetrically heated.Bubble images were captured using a high speed camera from the side view of the channel.The experimental conditions in terms of bulk temperature,bulk velocity,pressure and heat flux ranged from 65°C–75°C,0.25 m/s–0.75 m/s,1–1.7 bar and 490 kW/m2–700 kW/m2,respectively.On the basis of these tests,a statistical analysis of the bubble size has been conducted considering a population of 1400 samples.It has been found that the mean Sauter bubble diameter increases with the decrease of subcooling,bulk velocity,pressure and increased heat flux.A modified correlation has been finally proposed to predict the mean Sauter bubble diameter under subcooled flow boiling conditions upstream of the onset of significant void,which shows good accuracy with the experimental results.

Assessment of the Application of Subcooled Fluid Boiling to Diesel Engines for Heat Transfer Enhancement

The increasing demand of cooling in internal combustion engines(ICE)due to engine downsizing may require a shift in the heat removal method from the traditional single phase liquid convection to the application of new technologies based on subcooled fluid boiling.Accordingly,in the present study,experiments based on subcooled flow boiling of 50/50 by volume mixture of ethylene glycol and water coolant(EG/W)in a rectangular channel heated by a cast iron block are presented.Different degrees of subcooling,velocity and pressure conditions are examined.Comparison of three empirical reference models shows that noticeable deviations occur especially when low bulk subcooling and velocity conditions are considered.On the basis of the experimental data,a modified power-type wall heat flux model is developed and its ability to represent adequately reality is tested through numerical simulations against a reference rig case and a practical diesel engine.Computational results show that this modified model can effectively be used for practical engine cooling system design.

Critical Heat Flux(CHF)Correlations for Subcooled Water Flow Boiling at High Pressure and High Heat Flux

The subcooled water flow boiling is beneficial for removing the high heat flux from the divertor in the fusion reactor,for which an accurate critical heat flux(CHF)correlation is necessary.Up to now,there are many CHF correlations mentioned for subcooled water flow boiling in the open literatures.However,the CHF correlations’accuracies for the prediction of subcooled water flow boiling are not satisfactory at high heat flux and high pressure for reactor divertor.The present paper compiled 1356 CHF experimental data points from 15 independent open literatures and evaluated 10 existing CHF correlations in subcooled water flow boiling.From the evaluation,the W-2 CHF correlation performs best for the experimental CHF data in all existing critical heat flux correlations.However,the predicted mean absolute error(MAE)of the W-2 correlation is not very ideal for all database and the MAE of the W-2 correlation is from 30%to 50%for some database.In order to enhance the CHF prediction accuracy in subcooled water flow boiling at high heat flux and high pressure,the present paper developed a new CHF correlation.Compared with other existing CHF correlations,the new CHF correlation greatly enhances the prediction accuracy over a broad range of pressures and heat fluxes which are desired in the cooling of high heat flux devices,such as those in the fusion reactor divertor.The validation results show that the new correlation has a MAE of 10.05%and a root mean squared error(RMSE)of 16.61%,predicting 68.1%of the entire database within±10%and 81.5%within±15%.The MAE of the new CHF correlation is 7.4%less than that of the best existing one(W-2 correlation),further confirming its superior prediction accuracy and reliability.Besides,the new CHF correlation works well not only for a uniform power profile but also for a non-uniform power profile in subcooled water flow boiling at high pressure and high heat flux.