Prediction of boiling heat transfer duty in a compact plate-fin heat exchanger using the improved local assumption

Abstract

A previous study presented a design method for compact plate-fin heat exchangers having flow passages with frequent interruptions. The local assumption was applied whereby the local boiling heat transfer coefficient was assumed to be fixed by the local metal-to-liquid ΔT. The present study extends the local assumption to include the effect of velocity on the local heat transfer coefficient. Confirmation of the new method is provided by a comparison of prediction and data for Freon-113 in an actual heat exchanger.