Effects of vibration on pool boiling heat transfer from a vertically aligned array of heated tubes

Abstract

In the present study, the use of mechanical vibration for the enhancement of pool boiling heat transfer is evaluated theoretically. For this purpose, a vertical array of vibrating circular tubes is considered. The array is submerged in a pool of water under atmospheric conditions and electrically heated for boiling to occur on the tube surfaces. To model this phase-change phenomenon, a two-fluid formulation is employed and accompanied by the Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI) model to estimate the boiling heat flux on a solid surface. A comprehensive parametric study is undertaken to investigate the effects of the amplitude and frequency of vibration, the magnitude of the heat flux, and the pitch-to-diameter ratio of the array on pool boiling heat transfer in the presence of mechanical vibration. An increase of up to 90% in the heat transfer rate is achieved within the simulated operating conditions.