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Boiling and Two-Phase Flow in Narrow Channels

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Handbook of Thermal Science and Engineering

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Abstract

As the channel dimensions become smaller, the heat transfer surface area and the resulting heat transfer rate per unit flow volume become larger. This is further aided by the higher heat transfer coefficients during single-phase flow in the laminar flow region. Boiling, being an efficient transfer process, could also potentially benefit from this reduction in channel hydraulic diameter. The heat transfer mechanisms and flow instabilities resulting from the boiling process are now generally well understood in minichannels and microchannels. Recent advances in this field indicate that it is possible to achieve excellent heat transfer performance with little pressure drop penalty through appropriate design of the fluid flow passages.

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Abbreviations

A :

Flow area, m2

A c :

Cross-sectional area, m2

a, b :

Sides of a rectangular channel, m

a1…a5 :

Coefficients, dimensionless

Bo:

Boiling number, dimensionless, Bo = q″/(Gh LV)

Ca:

Capillary number, \( \mathrm{Ca}=\frac{\upmu_{\mathrm{L}} G}{\uprho_{\mathrm{L}}\upsigma} \)

Co:

Convection number, dimensionless, Co = [(1 – x)/x]0.9 [ρ V/ρ L]0.5

D :

Diameter, m

F F1 :

Fluid-surface parameter accounting for the nucleation characteristics of different fluid surface combinations, dimensionless

f :

single-phase friction factor, dimensionless

G :

Mass flux, kg/m2s

g :

Acceleration due to gravity, m/s2

h :

Heat transfer coefficient, W/m2-K

h LV :

Latent heat of vaporization, J/kg

K 2 :

Ratio of evaporation momentum to surface tension forces at the liquid–vapor

\( \dot{m} \) :

Mass flow rate, kg/s

Nu:

Nusselt number, dimensionless, Nu = hD h /k

P :

Wetted perimeter, m

p :

Pressure, Pa

Po:

Poiseuille number, Po = f × Re

Pr:

Prandtl number, dimensionless, Pr = μcp/k

q″:

Heat flux, W/m2

Re:

Reynolds number, dimensionless, Re = GD/μ

r c,min , r c,max :

Minimum and maximum cavity radii respectively at ONG, m

T :

Temperature, K

u :

Velocity, m/s

ν :

Specific volume, ν = 1/ρ, m3/kg

V :

Flow volume, m3

We:

Weber number, dimensionless, We = ρV S 2 D/σ

x :

Mass quality, dimensionless

z :

length from the channel entrance, m

α 1; α 2; α 3 :

Coefficients for the pressure distribution along a plane microchannel, dimensionless (Chapter “Microchannel definition”)

α c :

Channel aspect ratio, dimensionless, α c = a/b (between 0 and 1)

Δp :

Pressure drop, Pa

ΔT sat :

Temperature difference between wall and saturation, K

ΔT sub :

Temperature difference between saturation and subcooled liquid, K

δ t :

Thermal boundary layer thickness, m

θ :

tube inclination angle to horizontal, degrees

θ :

Contact angle, degrees

μ :

Dynamic viscosity, kg/ms

ρ :

Density, kg/m3

σ :

Surface tension, N/m

A:

Accelerational

CBD:

Convective boiling dominant

CHF:

Critical heat flux

Ent:

Entry

F :

Frictional

G:

Gravitational

h:

Hydraulic

L:

Liquid

LV :

Latent

LO:

Entire flow as liquid

m :

Mean

NBD:

Nucleate boiling dominant

r :

Receding

SP:

Single-phase

sat:

Saturated condition

TP:

Two-phase

t :

Thermal

V:

Vapor

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Rochester Institute of Technology, Rochester, NY, USA

    Satish G. Kandlikar

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  1. Satish G. Kandlikar
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Correspondence to Satish G. Kandlikar .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA

    Francis A. Kulacki

Section Editor information

  1. Politecnica/COPPE, Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro,, Rio de Janeiro, Brasília, Brazil

    Renato Cotta

  2. Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of California, Riverside, California, USA

    Kambiz Vafai

  3. Herff College of Engineering, The University of Memphis, Memphis, Tennessee, USA

    Sumanta Acharya

  4. Gas Technology Institute, Illinois, Illinois, USA

    Yaroslav Chudnovsky

  5. Rm 8260, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada

    Javad Mostaghimi

  6. Cekmeköy Campus, Özyegin University, Çekmeköy - Istanbul, Turkey

    Pinar Mengüc

  7. Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, University of California Los Angeles, Los Angeles, California, USA

    Vijay K. Dhir

  8. Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, University of California Los Angeles, 48-121 E4, Box 951597, 900095-1597, Los Angeles, California, USA

    Vijay K. Dhir

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Kandlikar, S.G. (2017). Boiling and Two-Phase Flow in Narrow Channels. In: Kulacki, F. (eds) Handbook of Thermal Science and Engineering. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-32003-8_48-1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-32003-8_48-1

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  • Print ISBN: 978-3-319-32003-8

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