Comparison and Improvements of Correlations for Film Boiling in Tubes

Two methodologies to predict film boiling heat-transfer coefficient have been assessed against experimental wall-temperature measurements obtained under steady-state conditions with water flow inside vertical tubes. One of these methodologies employs heat flux as the independent parameter while the other uses wall temperature as the independent parameter. The film boiling heat transfer consists of developing and fully developed film-boiling regions. Film boiling heat-transfer coefficients are predicted using the film boiling look-up tables for fully developed flow. Developing film-boiling effect is accounted for using modification factors to the fully developed heat-transfer coefficient. Wall-temperature distributions along uniformly heated tubes were established using a semi-analytical scheme and compared against measurements. Both methodologies have provided good predictions. However, the overall prediction accuracy for the heat-flux-based correlation is slightly better than that for the wall-temperature-based correlation. Wall temperatures predicted with the heat-flux-based correlation follow closely measurements at the developing post-dryout region. The wall superheat correlation predicts a sharp temperature rise once the critical heat flux is exceeded, resulting in discrepancies between predictions and measurements of wall temperature and overpredictions of the maximum temperature. The wall-temperature-based modification factor for the developing film-boiling region has been revised using the tube heat-transfer database to improve the prediction accuracy of the wall temperature.Copyright © 2009 by ASME