Effect of inlet subcooling on two-phase flow oscillations in a vertical boiling channel

Abstract

In this work, results of experimental research to investigate the effects of heat transfer augmentation and inlet subcooling on two-phase flow instabilities are presented. For this purpose, a simple set-up was designed and built. The effect of inlet subcooling was investigated using different heat transfer surfaces and inlet temperatures at constant heat input of 415 W. Freon-11 has been used as the test fluid, and the experiments were carried out for six heater tubes having different heat transfer surfaces. Inlet temperatures were in the range of −9.8°C to 38°C. The results indicate that, in the range of present experiments, the system becomes more stable, that it's instability boundary moves into lower mass flow rates, with increase in the inlet subcooling. However, the amplitudes and the periods of the oscillations increase with increase in the inlet subcooling. For some of the tested surfaces there was a particular inlet subcooling, above and below which the system's stability decreased.