Low Mass Velocity Research Articles

Heat sensitivity of vertical water wall at low mass velocity in supercritical pressure W-shaped flame boiler

The vertical water wall of the once-through boiler is sensitive to heat disturbance because of its smaller water volume compared with the drum boiler. This paper deduced formulas of the sensitivity coefficient of flow and output enthalpy, and made a heat sensitivity analysis for the vertical water wall of a 600 MW supercritical pressure W-shaped flame boiler at a low mass velocity when heat disturbance occurs. It was found that the flow sensitivity coefficient decreases and the outlet enthalpy sensitivity coefficient increases with increasing steam quality. Increasing mass velocity weakens the flow sensitivity and enhances the outlet enthalpy sensitivity. When the mass velocity exceeds a certain value, the flow sensitivity coefficient is less than zero. Increasing heat flux leads to an increase in the flow sensitivity coefficient and a decrease in the outlet enthalpy sensitivity coefficient. In the condition of low steam quality, the flow sensitivity weakens and outlet enthalpy sensitivity strengthens when the pressure is up to 22 MPa. Moreover, when the quality is high, rising pressure strengthens the flow sensitivity and weakens the outlet enthalpy sensitivity. The study has provided some instructive findings, which may be helpful for the safety operation of the 600 MW supercritical pressure W-shaped flame boiler.

Experimental Investigation of Two-Phase Flow Instabilities in Low-Mass-Flux Water Wall Tubes of Supercritical Circular Fluidized Bed Boilers

For the purpose of disclosing the hydrodynamic flow characteristics, under the low mass velocity conditions of the 600-MW supercritical circular fluidized beds boilers, experimental studies on instability of two-phase flow in parallel vertical internally ribbed tubes were conducted. Two kinds of oscillations, pressure-drop oscillation and density-wave oscillation, have been observed. In the range of test parameters the effects of pressure, mass flux, inlet subcooling, compressible volume, exit throttle, and asymmetric heat flux to the two-phase instability were explored and analyzed. Indications from experiment data are: To increase system pressure, mass flux and inlet subcooling will intensify the stability of water wall tubes. To increase exit throttle will intensify the instability of water wall tubes. The bounding pressure and bounding mass flux of density-wave oscillations and the bounding pressure of pressure-drop oscillation have been obtained. Based on the results of testing and using a homogeneous model, the threshold relational expressions of instability were obtained. The results may be used for the design and safe operation of parallel vertical rifled water wall tubes of supercritical circular fluidized beds boilers.

Experimental study of condensation heat transfer of R-134a flow in corrugated tubes with different inclinations

This experimental study is performed to investigate condensation heat transfer coefficient of R-134a flow inside corrugated tube with different inclinations. Different inclinations of test condenser ranging from − 90 ° to + 90 ° and various flow mass velocities in the range of 87 to 253 [kg/m 2s] are considered in this study. Data analysis showed that change in the tube inclination had a significant effect on condensation heat transfer behavior. At low mass velocities, and low vapor qualities, the highest condensation heat transfer coefficient was obtained for α = + 30 ° which was 1.41 times greater than the least one obtained for α = − 90 °. The results also showed that at all mass velocities, the highest average heat transfer coefficients were achieved for α = + 30 °. Based on the experimental results, a new empirical correlation is proposed to predict the condensation heat transfer coefficient of R134a flow in corrugated tubes with different inclinations.

Drying of Suspensions in a Fluidized Bed of Inert Particles Under Reduced Pressure

A drying method in which a heat-sensitive material is immersed in a fluidized bed under reduced pressure was used to continuously obtain dispersed, dry, fine powders of that material from a dilute suspension or solution at a low temperature with a high drying rate. The mass velocities of the drying gas, sample flow rate, and chamber pressure were varied, and the effects of these variations on the corresponding drying characteristics were examined. The fluidization state of a fluidized bed of inert particles strongly affects the drying rate in the bed and has a greater effect than the chamber pressure on the corresponding drying characteristics. In other words, it is important to maintain a vigorous fluidization state to achieve a high drying rate. Although the maximum drying rate is independent of the chamber pressure, it can be achieved at a low mass velocity of the drying gas under reduced pressure. That is, at a low chamber pressure a high drying rate can be achieved, even at a relatively low mass velocity of the drying gas. The bed temperature at the time of drying is strongly influenced by the drying rate and decreases linearly with an increase in the maximum drying rate when the sample flow rate is equal to the drying rate.

Evaporation heat transfer of R-134a inside a microfin tube with different tube inclinations

An experimental investigation has been carried out to study the heat transfer characteristics during evaporation of R-134a inside a single helical microfin tube. The microfin tube has been provided with different tube inclination angles of the direction of fluid flow from horizontal, α. The experiments were performed for seven different tube inclinations, α, in a range of −90° to +90° and four mass velocities of 53, 80, 107 and 136 kg/m 2 s for each tube inclination angle during evaporation of R-134a. The results demonstrate that the tube inclination angle, α, affects the boiling heat-transfer coefficient in a significant manner. For all refrigerant mass velocities, the best performing tube is that having inclination angle of α = +90°. The effect of tube inclination angle, α, on heat-transfer coefficient, h, is more prominent at low vapor quality and mass velocity. An empirical correlation has also been developed to predict the heat-transfer coefficient during flow boiling inside a microfin tube with different tube inclinations.

Entropy generation during flow boiling of pure refrigerant and refrigerant–oil mixture

Optimization of evaporators in refrigeration systems, for instance, can be conducted using entropy generation as a criterion. The latter can be used for choosing a technology (smooth tubes, enhanced tubes, tube diameter, etc) or selecting a fluid. Once this optimization is performed, the refrigerant charge can be evaluated. In this paper, different entropy generation expressions are presented for a diabatic two-phase flow of a pure refrigerant and a refrigerant–oil mixture. These expressions are developed based on the separated flow model. Depending on the boundary conditions, the equations are different and the conclusions differ from one to the other. It is shown that for a heat flux condition at the tube wall, the use of enhanced tubes is recommended at low mass velocities whereas, the use of smooth tubes is better at higher mass velocities. On the contrary, for a constant wall temperature, the use of enhanced tubes is always better than smooth tubes. The role of oil is also emphasized. The higher the oil concentration in the refrigerant, the higher the entropy generation.

Self-compensating characteristic of steam–water mixture at low mass velocity in vertical upward parallel internally ribbed tubes

Abstract This paper presents an experimental investigation on Self-Compensating Characteristic (SCC) in vertical upward parallel tubes with low mass velocity of steam–water two-phase mixture. A physical model was built up using parallel internally ribbed tubes. A method called Differential Pressure Substitute was used to measure two-phase flow parameters. The results indicated that the SCC of vertical upward parallel tubes is caused by combined action of frictional pressure drop and gravitational pressure drop. The mass velocity in the tube with lower heat flux decreases first, and then increases with an increase in quality. The uneven heat fluxes among tubes are the main reasons that cause mass velocity differentials. Greater uneven heating ratio enhances the SCC in low quality region and weakens it in high quality region. The SCC has different variation rules in different pressure region. In the sub-critical pressure region, rising pressure weakens the SCC when quality is low and enhances it when quality is high. In near-critical pressure region, the mass velocity varies monotonically and slowly with the increase in quality because the difference between water and steam is minor in this pressure region. The results provide some instructive advices to improve the design and operation safety of once-through boiler.

Nano-structured sandwich composites response to low-velocity impact

Abstract This paper investigates the influence of exfoliated nano-structures on sandwich composites under impact loadings. A set of sandwich composites plates made of fiberglass/nano-modified epoxy face sheets and polystyrene foams was prepared. The core was 25 mm thick and the face sheets were made of eight layers of woven fabric glass fibers and nano-modified epoxy (≈0.8 mm of thickness). The epoxy system was bisphenol A resin and an amine hardener. The fiber volume fraction used was around 65%, while the nanoclay content varied from 0 wt.% to 10 wt.%. The nanoclay used was Cloisite 30B from Southern Clay. The sandwich panels were submitted to low-velocity impact tests with energies from 5 J to 75 J. Two sets of experiments were performed, i.e. high velocity + low mass and low velocity + high mass. Damage caused by the two groups of experiments and peak forces measured were dissimilar. The results show that the addition of 5 wt.% of nanoclay lead to a more efficient energy absorption. The failure modes were also analyzed, and they seems to be affected by the nanoclay addition to face sheets.

Flow Boiling in a Micro-Channel Coated With Carbon Nanotubes

This study examines the heat transfer enhancement attributes of carbon nanotubes (CNTs) applied to the bottom wall of a shallow rectangular micro-channel. Using deionized water as working fluid, experiments were performed with both a bare copper bottom wall and a CNT-coated copper wall. Boiling curves were generated for both walls, aided by high-speed video analysis of interfacial features. CNT arrays promoted earlier, abundant and intense bubble nucleation at low mass velocities, consistent with findings from previous pool boiling studies. However, high mass velocities compromised or eliminated altogether any enhancement in the nucleate boiling region. The enhancement achieved at low mass velocities appears to be the result of deep, near-zero-angle cavities formed by the mesh of CNT arrays. On the other hand, high mass velocities tend to fold the CNTs upon the wall, greatly reducing the depth of the CNT-mesh-induced cavities, and compromising the effectiveness of CNTs at capturing embryos and sustaining the bubble nucleation process. CHF enhancement was also achieved mostly at low mass velocities. It is postulated CNT arrays enhance CHF by increasing the heat transfer area as well as by serving as very high conductivity fins that penetrate into the cooler, bulk liquid flow and take advantage of the liquid subcooling away from the wall. While these mechanisms are prevalent at low velocities, they are both weakened, especially the fin effect, at high mass velocities because of the folding of CNT arrays upon the wall.

Low-Temperature Two-Phase Microchannel Cooling for High-Heat-Flux Thermal Management of Defense Electronics

For a given heat sink thermal resistance and ambient temperature, the temperature of an electronic device rises fairly linearly with increasing device heat flux. This relationship is especially problematic for defense electronics, where heat dissipation is projected to exceed 1000 W/cm2 in the near future. Direct and indirect low-temperature refrigeration cooling facilitate appreciable reduction in the temperature of both coolant and device. This paper explores the benefits of cooling the device using direct and indirect refrigeration cooling systems. In the direct cooling system, a microchannel heat sink serves as an evaporator in a conventional vapor compression cycle using R134a as working fluid. In the indirect cooling system, HFE 7100 is used to cool the heat sink in a primary pumped liquid loop that rejects heat to a secondary refrigeration loop. Two drastically different flow behaviors are observed in these systems. Because of compressor performance constraints, mostly high void fraction two-phase patterns are encountered in the R134a system, dominated by saturated boiling. On the other hand, the indirect refrigeration cooling system facilitates highly subcooled boiling inside the heat sink. Both systems are shown to provide important cooling benefits, but the indirect cooling system is far more effective at dissipating high heat fluxes. Tests with this system yielded cooling heat fluxes as high as 840 W/cm2 without incurring critical heat flux (CHF). Results from both systems are combined to construct an overall map of performance trends relative to mass velocity, subcooling, pressure, and surface tension. Extreme conditions of near-saturated flow, low mass velocity, and low pressure produce ldquomicrordquo behavior, where macrochannel flow pattern maps simply fail to apply, instabilities are prominent, and CHF is quite low. One the other hand, systems with high mass velocity, high subcooling, and high pressure are far more stable and yield very high CHF values; two-phase flow in these systems follows the fluid flow and heat transfer behavior as well as the flow pattern maps of macrochannels.

Local entropy generation for saturated two-phase flow

This paper addresses the estimation of local entropy generation rate for diabatic saturated two-phase flow of a pure fluid. Two different approaches have been adopted for this thermodynamic characterization: the separated flow model using the classical vapor flow quality, and the mixture model, using the thermodynamic vapor quality. Based on these two models, two distinct expressions for the local entropy generation have been proposed. The analysis explicitly shows the contribution of heat transfer and pressure drop respectively to the local entropy generation. The contribution due to phase-change process is also determined using the mixture model. The developed formulation is applied to analyze the thermodynamic performance of enhanced heat transfer tubes under different conditions. It is shown that enhanced tubes may be a relevant solution for reducing entropy generation at low mass velocities whereas smooth tubes remain the best solution at higher ones.

Heat Transfer and Fluid Flow Characteristics in Supercritical Pressure Water

A series of integral heat transfer measurements in a square annular flow passage was performed for bulk water temperatures of 175–400°C with upward mass velocities of 300 kg/m2 s and 1000 kg/m2 s and heat fluxes of 0, 200 kW/m2, and 440 kW/m2, all at a pressure of 25 MPa. Mean and turbulent velocities measured with a two-component laser Doppler velocimetry system along with simulations using the computational fluid dynamics (CFD) code FLUENT were used to explain the deterioration and enhancement of heat transfer in supercritical pressure water. At low mass velocities, the integral heat transfer measurements exhibited large localized wall temperature spikes that could not be accurately predicted with Nusselt correlations. Detailed mean and turbulent velocities along with FLUENT simulations show that buoyancy effects cause a significant reduction in turbulent quantities at a radial location similar to what is the law of the wall region for isothermal flow. At bulk temperatures near the pseudocritical temperature, high mass velocity integral heat transfer measurements exhibited an enhanced heat transfer with a magnitude dependent on the applied heat flux. Measured mean and turbulent velocities showed no noticeable changes under these conditions. FLUENT simulations show that the integrated effects of specific heat can be used to explain the observed effects. The experimentally measured heat transfer and local velocity data also serve as a database to compare existing CFD models, such as Reynolds-averaged Navier-Stokes (RANS) equations and possibly even large Eddy simulations (LES) and direct numerical simulations (DNS). Ultimately, these measurements will aid in the development of models that can accurately predict heat transfer to supercritical pressure water.

Effects of carbon nanotube coating on flow boiling in a micro-channel

Experiments were performed to assess the heat transfer enhancement benefits of coating the bottom wall of a shallow rectangular micro-channel with carbon nanotubes (CNTs). Using water as working fluid, tests were performed with a bare copper surface and three separate, yet identical CNT-coated surfaces. Each of the CNT-coated surfaces was tested repeatedly at the same mass velocity to explore any time dependence of heat transfer performance parameters, especially critical heat flux (CHF). Appreciable differences in the influence of CNT coating were observed at high mass velocities as compared to low. CHF was repeatable at low mass velocities but degraded following repeated tests at high mass velocities, proving high flow velocities cause appreciable changes to the morphology of the CNT-coated surface. SEM images show the initially near-vertical CNTs were bent upon the heated surface at high mass velocities to form a repeated ‘ fish-scale’ pattern. Voids between the ‘fish scales’ provided near-zero-angle cavities that enhanced heat transfer in the nucleate boiling region compared to the bare copper surface. While CHF was enhanced by the increased heat transfer area associated with the CNT coating, the enhancement decreased following repeated tests as the CNT fin effect was compromised by the bending.

Critical heat flux for subcooled flow boiling in micro-channel heat sinks

Critical heat flux (CHF) was measured and examined with high-speed video for subcooled flow boiling in micro-channel heat sinks using HFE 7100 as working fluid. High subcooling was achieved by pre-cooling the working fluid using a secondary low-temperature refrigeration system. The high subcooling greatly reduced both bubble departure diameter and void fraction, and precluded flow pattern transitions beyond the bubbly regime. CHF was triggered by vapor blanket formation along the micro-channel walls despite the presence of abundant core liquid, which is consistent with the mechanism of Departure from Nucleate Boiling (DNB). CHF increased with increasing mass velocity and/or subcooling and decreasing hydraulic diameter for a given total mass flow rate. A pre-mature type of CHF was caused by vapor backflow into the heat sink’s inlet plenum at low mass velocities and small inlet subcoolings, and was associated with significant fluctuations in inlet and outlet pressure, as well as wall temperature. A systematic technique is developed to modify existing CHF correlations to more accurately account for features unique to micro-channel heat sinks, including rectangular cross-section, three-sided heating, and flow interaction between micro-channels. This technique is shown to be successful at correlating micro-channel heat sink data corresponding to different hydraulic diameters, mass velocities and inlet temperatures.

Study of two-phase flow regime identification in horizontal tube bundles under vertical upward cross-flow condition using wavelet transform

A wavelet-transform based approach for flow regime identification in horizontal tube bundles under vertical upward cross-flow condition was presented. Tests on two-phase flow pattern of R134a were conducted under low mass velocity and flow boiling conditions over ranges of mass flux 4–25 kg/m2·s, vapor quality 0.02–0.90. Time series of differential pressure fluctuations were measured and analyzed with discrete wavelet transform. Different time-scale characteristics in bubbly flow, churn flow and annular flow were analyzed. The wavelet energy distributions over scales were found to be appropriate for flow regime identification. Based on the wavelet energy distribution over characteristic scales, a criterion of flow regime identification was proposed. The comparison with experiment results show that it is feasible to use the discrete wavelet transform as the tool of flow regime identification in horizontal tube bundles under vertical upward cross-flow condition.

Dispersed flow film boiling in vertical narrow annular gaps

Dispersed flow film boiling heat transfer in vertical narrow annular gaps with gap sizes of 1.0, 1.5 and 2.0 mm was experimentally investigated with de-ionized water as the working fluid at low mass velocities. Comparisons of the experimental data with established correlations show that the correlations are not accurate for small gaps. The influences of the heating mode (only one tube heating or both tubes heated), the gap size and the tube diameter were analyzed. The data was correlated in the form of the Groeneveld equation with a modified wall temperature factor as use in the Polomik correlation and a modified gap size factor as use in the Yun and Muthu correlation. A new correlation was developed for dispersed flow film boiling heat transfer based on the experimental data for 1.0–2.0 mm gaps.

Fluid flow and heat transfer characteristics of low temperature two-phase micro-channel heat sinks – Part 1: Experimental methods and flow visualization results

A new cooling scheme is proposed where the primary working fluid flowing through a micro-channel heat sink is pre-cooled to low temperature using an indirect refrigeration cooling system. Cooling performance was explored using HFE 7100 as working fluid and four different micro-channel sizes. High-speed video imaging was employed to help explain the complex interrelated influences of hydraulic diameter, micro-channel width, mass velocity and subcooling on cooling performance. Unlike most prior two-phase micro-channel heat sink studies, which involved annular film evaporation due high void fraction, the low coolant temperatures used in this study produced subcooled flow boiling conditions. Decreasing coolant temperature delayed the onset of boiling, reduced bubble size and coalescence effects, and enhanced CHF. Heat fluxes in excess of 700 W/cm 2 could be managed without burnout. Premature CHF occurred at low mass velocities and was caused by vapor flow reversal toward the inlet plenum. This form of CHF was eliminated by decreasing coolant temperature and/or increasing flow rate.

Hydrodynamic drag of a flow of steam-water mixture in a pebble bed

Analysis is performed of the effect of the basic process parameters on the pressure loss under conditions of two-phase flow in a pebble bed. Relations are suggested, which generalize the available data of experiments involving steam-water flows in pebble beds (the ranges of variation of pressure from 0.9 to 15.6 MPa, of mass velocity in the pebble bed from 180 to 770 kg/(m2 s), and of steam quality from zero to 0.48), as well as the data for porous structures of sintered spherical bronze particles of small diameter (0.16–0.63 mm) at relatively low pressures (0.2–0.59 MPa) and low mass velocities (10 to 27 kg/(m2 s)), and in a wide range of variation of void fraction (0–1.0).

Heat transfer to water at supercritical pressures in a circular and square annular flow geometry

A supercritical water heat transfer facility has been built at the University of Wisconsin to study heat transfer in a circular and square annular flow channel. Operating conditions included mass velocities of 350–1425 kg/m 2s, heat fluxes up to 1.0 MW/m 2, and bulk inlet temperatures up to 400 °C; all at a pressure of 25 MPa. The accuracy and validity of selected heat transfer correlations and buoyancy criterion were compared with heat transfer measurements. Jackson’s Nusselt correlation was able to best predict the test data, capturing 86% of the data within 25%. Watts Nusselt correlation showed a similar trend but under predicted measurements by 10% relative to Jackson’s. Comparison of experimental results with results of previous investigators has shown general agreement with high mass velocity data. Low mass velocity data have provided some insight into the difficulty in applying these Nusselt correlations to a region of deteriorated heat transfer. Geometrical differences in heat transfer were seen when deterioration was present. Jackson’s buoyancy criterion predicted the onset of deterioration while modifications were applied to Seo’s Froude number based criterion.

Condensation heat transfer of R-134a inside a microfin tube with different tube inclinations

Experimental heat transfer studies during condensation of pure R-134a vapor inside a single microfin tube have been carried out. The microfin tube has been provided with different tube inclination angles of the direction of fluid flow from horizontal, α. The data are acquired for seven different tube inclinations, α, in a range of −90 to +90° and three mass velocities of 54, 81, and 107 kg/m 2-s for each inclination angle during condensation of R-134a vapor. The experimental results indicate that the tube inclination angle of, α, affects the condensation heat transfer coefficient in a significant manner. The highest heat transfer coefficient is attained at inclination angle of α = +30°. The effect of inclination angle, α, on heat transfer coefficient, h, is more prominent at low vapor quality and mass velocity. A correlation has also been developed to predict the condensing side heat transfer coefficient for different vapor qualities and mass velocities.