13.5. BOILING Boiling constitutes the convective heat transfer a : liquid to vapour state. This is achieved through heat supplied to the liquid and occurs when a heated surface is exposed to the liquid and is maintained at a temperature above the saturation temperature of the liquid. The boiling process has wide-spread applications. e.g., in (i) production of steam in nuclear and steam power plants for generation and for industrial processes and space heating (ii) absorption of heat in refrigeration and air-conditioning systems (ii) concentration, dehydration and drying of foods and materials (iv) distillation and refining of liquids Greater importance has recently been given to the boiling in nuclear reactors, space-crafts and rockets where large quantities of heat are produced in a 2. Such high heat transfer limited space and are to be dissipated at rates as high as 10° W/m’. n rates can be well appreciated by comparing it with the maximum heat transfer rate in a modern boiler (2 x 10° W/m). The boiling phenomenon is known to occur in the following forms : (i) Pool boiling : The liquid above the hot surface is essentially stagnant, and the only motion near the surface is because of free convection and mixing induced by the bubble growth and detachment. The pool boiling occurs in steam boilers employing natural convection (ii) Forced convection boiling : The fluid motion is induced by external means. The liquid is pumped and forced across the surface in a controlled manner. The free convection and the bubble-induced-mixing also contribute towards fluid motion. (ii) Subcooled or local boiling : The temperature of the liquid is below the saturation temperature and boiling takes place only in vicinty of the heated surface. The vapour bubbles travel a short path and then vanish; apparently they condense in the bulk of the liquid which is at a temperature less than the boiling point. (iv) Saturated boiling : The temperature of the liquid exceeds the saturation temperature. The vapour bubbles generated at the solid surface (liquid-solid interface) are transported through the liquid by buoyancy effects and eventually escape from the surface (liquid-vapour interface). ‘The actual evaporation process then sets in. that involves a phase change from heat transfer because of developments 4 BOILING REGIMES Whether oe boiling phenomenon corresponds to pool boiling or forced circulation boiling, there a ves definite repimes of boiling associated with progressively increasing heat flux be se regimes have been entified in Fig. 13.8 which shows the relationship between heat flux Coefficient) and the temperature excess (t, ~ ty,) ; t, is the temperature of the Le surface and t.,, is the s wre at which the . sat saturation tem, 5 i i 3 purtace wd hat perature corresponding to the pressure at which # i A rise in the slope of the curve indi ing heat flux with increasing '! A irve indicates an inci ig ith i , sot excess and the boiling regime is stable. When the ca di s bi in reine Bip pe decreases, the boiling TB" ical and must be avoided led. These different regimes can be illustrated by considering a" .Condensation and Boiling / 665. r i .ontal wire submerged in a pool of li porizonta pool of liquid at saturati st Pocrrlled by voltage drop across a wire of Fixed ee eee 3 portion process vith no bubble formation (interface evg a () Bigger ofiguid which adjoins the heated surface. Th El becomes superheated, i.e., temperature of the liquid een PSS The superheated liquid rises to the liquid-vapour inter Hee fd etn ermine rina by fe mon Teh increé y radually, i ects. whge ate 8 ly, with growth in a temperature excess, ae Interface evaporation Film poration: The boiling takes place e liquid in the immediate vicinity exceeds the saturation temperature Pure convection : heat transfered by super heated liquid rising to the liquid-vapour interface where evaporation takes place Jog, h (Wim*-deg) boil ‘Stable film condense in superheated liquid, etc. as in case | Nucleate ‘Nucleate boiling ‘Partial, nucleate bubbles rise to boiling & unstable interface nucleate film O41 1.0 10 400 Temperature excess, (1,~ tea) © 1000 10,000 Fig. 13.8. Boling curve for water : surface heat flux as a function of excess temperature 2) Nucleate boiling : When the liquid is overheated in relation to saturation temperature, vapour bubbles are formed at certain favourable spots called the nucleation or active sites; thee may be the wall surface irregularities, air bubbles and the particles of dust. The bubbles grow to certain size influenced by pressure, temperature and surface tension at the liquid- vapour interface. Depending on temperature excess, the nucleate oiling essentially consists of the following stages : (a) Bubbles form and collapse on the surface itself (6) Bubbles form on the heated surface, but get condensed in the liquid after detaching from the surface : oS (©) Bubbles form, break away from the heated surface with increasing frequency and intensity. The liquid is, however, quite hot and the bubbles do not condense in it. They rise to the liquid surface and are directly expelled to the vapour space and that helps rapid evaporation. ‘. The mechanism and the cycle of bubble () Liquid next to the heated surface bec : | tt) Vapour nucleus of sufficient size is created to initiate the formation of bubble ti) Bubble grows in size and pushes the layer of superheated liquid away from the heates surface ) Top of the bubble comes into contact rest the bubble erowth formation has been illustrated in Fig. 13.9. omes superheated that has a tendency to (in with the cooler liquid andce erate TT: 666 // Hest and Mi Inertia of the liquid and the bubble has caused the bubble to gr (©) vosition that it loses more heat to the cooler liquid than it gains By conduction on the heated surface a (vi) Bubble begins t0 collapse and the cooler liquid gains velocity to fill in the bubble volume and inertia of the cooler liquid brings it into contact with (oil) Bubble suffers a total collapse the heating surface vill) Bventually the cooler liquid gets heated above the saturation temperature, and another cycle for bubble formation Aaa its collapse begins. Vapour mucous oe RS Oo i) xis wie EE eX 0) w w NE wes : a) , w) Fig. 13.9. Mechanism and cycle of bubble formation and collapse g is thus characterised by the formation of bubbles at the nucleation tion. The bubble agitation induces considerable fluid mixing lux and the boiling heat transfer coefficient. e bubbles blanket the heating surface The nucleation boiliny sites and the resulting liquid agita snd that promotes substantial increase in the heat fl {@) Film boiling : The bubble formation is very rapid; thé and prevent the incoming fresh liquid from taking their place. Eventually the bubbles coalese ang form a vapour film which covers the surface completely. Insulating effect of the vapout film (its low thermal conductivity) overshadows the beneficial effect of liquid agitation and consequently the heat flux drops with growth in temperature excess. Within the temperature range 50 < At < 150, conditions oscillate between nucleate and film boiling and this phase is referred to as transition boiling, unstable film boiling or partial film boiling. Eventualy the temperature differences are so large that radiant heat-flux becomes significant, rather controlling fo ita the heat flux curve begins to rise upward with increasing temperature excess. That ba Ca film boiling. The phenomenon of stable ‘alm boiling is refered Critical h 2 i curve ioprestis tis poi ca : The boiling crisis or the burnout point = te film boiling. The maximum fears heat flux at which transition occurs ing Iemrpeedine ekchtn ja iemened lux is called the critical heat flux and the correspon atmospheric pressure, the bi as the critical temperature difference. For water evapo es ” urnout occurs at temperature excess slightly above h eat ee order of 1.58 x 10° W/m’, iling process i : ses coresponds to point Ben tec the unstable state beyond the burnout Lat oo m5 uurnout is accompanied ce boiling curve. An increase in the temperature eee ecrease i in the heat transfer capability of the ee is a continued inc i ease in the surface temperature. At ihbrium . At point B an equill48 ver au saturated vapour comes in a iling. Whene he reverse of boiling: ature, condensation occurs: There are two modes of condensaia » conttaface forming, a continuous film Which covers the gy fondenses into small liquid droplets of various sizes hig ‘The process of condensation ist with a surface at a lower tempet {filmwise, in which the condensate wels the ‘surface and dropwise in which the vapor c wn the surface in a random fashion. ; ' ae condensation generally occurs on clean pene eae et pe 9 condensation the film covering the entire surface grows 1n thickness A le nthe sures y gravity, There exists a thermal gradient in the film and so it acts i ee i transfer. dropwise condensation a large portion of the area of the plate is directly : ‘pos a vapour, aking heat transfer rates much larger (5 to 10 times) than those in filmwise con eae ion ough dropwise condensation would be preferred to filmwise condensation yet it is extreme'y FY cult t0 achieve o maintain. This is because most surfaces become ‘wetted’ after being exposed to condensing vapours over a period of time. Dropwise condensation can be obtained under controlled conditions with the cr certuin additives to the condensate and various surface coatings but its commercial viability has na yet been proved. For this reason, the condensing equipment in use is designed on the basis of filmwise condensation. 142. LAMINAR EILMVISE CONDENSATION ON AVERTICAL PLATE iiss Filmwise condensation on a vertical plate can be analysed on lines proposed by Nusselt (1916). Unless the velocity of the vapour is very high or the liquid film very thick, the motion of the condensate would be laminar. The thickness of the condensate film will be a function of the rate of condensation of vapour and the rate at which the condensate is removed from the surface. On a vertical surface the film thickness’ will increase gradually from top to bottom as shown in Fig. 11.4, Nusselt’s analysis of film condensation makes the following simplifying assumptions Ts oT Tout —Te uw) . wy 8) Teat a 0 y Growth of film etooty yas Profile Te Fig. 11.4 Temperature profile Filmwise Condensation on a Vertical Plateoun AND CONDENSATION (a the plate is maintained at a uniform temperature, T,, which is less than the saturation temperature Ty.» of the vapour, ithe condensate flow is laminar Gi the fuid properties are constant. (iv) the shear stress at the liquid vapour interface is negligible. (yy the acceleration of fluid within the condensate layer is neglected. vi) the heat transfer across the condensate layer is by pure conduction and the temperature distribution is linear. Consider a differential volume element of the condensate at any axial position, x. For the small dotted area shown In Fig. 11.4, the x-momentum: equation, Eqn. (6.19a) (neglecting inertia terms) becomes i _& wy dx Mh (11.14) where B, is the body force in x-direction. ‘The body force within the film is p,g- Making the boundary ee a layer type approximations Es = o} the pressure gradient is evaluated in terms of conditions outside » the film. So 8 Equation (11.14) may now be written as Mu 8 ou 2-42 (p,- p,) (ts) wo Integrating twice and using the boundary conditions u= Oat y= O.and dufdy=0 at y= 5, the velocity profile in the film ‘becomes — p,)o* 1 w= BEB [3 : | (116) ' ‘The condensate mass flow rate through any _xposition ofthe film is thus given by 1 : (p= Be m(x) = f pucnay = BEE ay } 3H differential change in the mass flow rate is evaluated from the above expression as . S - 5 6 n= PPLE Bed BM. ca Hy ‘This is equal to the amount of condensate added between xand x+ dx, when 5 changes to 5 + 3. ‘The eat transfer at the wall in the area (dx - 1) is given by Fourier’s Law (assuming a linear temperature profile).it conderises. transferred from the vapour as . ‘This amount of energy must Rear eal the incremental mass flow (dm) tities thie later beat y The heat removed by the wall condensation (hy) of the vapour. Thus 2 kT — Td Pu(Pr- Pv 85 co a. Ata 18 Hy 52 g5= Atle = mi) os ma “ 8P1(P1— Pr) hy This equation can be integrated with the b.c. 5 = 0 and x = 0 to any position x, giving “ | kt Toa — al is ae -| sae Phy The local heat transfer coefficient may now be expressed as = kd Ee) fy dr (Pag—T,) = hyd ie oan “ 5x) or from Eqn. (11.21) 1 hx] PPIX BvD a L4H) Te Tx The average value of the heat transfer coefficient for the entire plate is obtained dy iimtegrating h, over the length of the plate, t < 1) z fo, dv=40n, ¢ a - ( 4, ial bul = Fi, = 0,943] $PMPr~ PLR Ing ws Hig ~ TL Since the experimental values of hy ‘ Are usually 209% or so higher than Uwove rede YE (11.25), it has been Suggested by McAd; lams that the constant 0.943 be replaced by 1.13. Heme m" » vfs | We h, MTONDENGATION aan uid propertion In High. (11.26) should be evaluated at the film = ‘ ld be ule Ta cr ene i pgn. (11.25) has been derived apecifically fe G4 ” ough ly for @ vertical flat plate, the correlation mas Vor condensation on the inside and outside surfac " ; et na ot iim thickness, laces of a vertical tube if the tube radius is FS ned Surfaces: Ifa plate or cylinder is inclined at an angle ‘ith ‘a ride is replaced by 608 6. @ with the vertical, Eqn, (11,25) can ing Eqn (10:26), the total heat transfer to the surface is given by Q= hy AI ~T7,) (11.27) re rate of condensation may be obtained from the relation me Qe A T= T,) Ny hg z (11.28) ple 11.6 saturated steam at a pressure of 2,45 bar condenses on the surface of a vertical tube of height 1 m. tube surface temperature is kept at 117°C, Estimate the thickness of the condensate film and the | heat transfer coefficient at a distance of 0,2 m from the upper end of the tube. ition properties of water at 2.45 bar are: Saturated vapour; Tey =127°C, p,= > = 10731 = 1.368 kg/m? yp yg = 2183 KS kg Saturated water; Ty = (117 + 127)/2 = 122°C = 395 K 1 1 = + =, = 941.6 kg/m’ Pre * [062 x 107 * fy = 227 x 10° N-sim”, k, = 687 107 WimK Assuming the condensate film to be laminar, the film thickness is given by Eqn. (11.21). 6 kif, Ta — Te | (x) =| eh ee ie [see = Py hy i x=0.2m (4) (687 x 10°) (227 x 10*) 0) (0.2) ] 9 = |G gty (941.6) (941.6 - 1.368) (2183 x 10°) = 0.9104 m 50.09 mm——ay 00 ENGINEERING HEAT AND MASSTRY The local heat transfer coefficient at x = 0.2 m is calculated from Eqn. (11.22) = sh he 5(x) _ 687x107 = aaeiot = 7633 Wim? K 9X Ig2