Bulk Boiling

Heat Transfer BOILING HEAT TRANSFER Bulk Boiling As system temperature increases or system pressure drops, the bulk fluid can reach saturation conditions. At this point, the bubbles entering the coolant channel will not collapse. The bubbles will tend to join together and form bigger steam bubbles. This phenomenon is referred to as bulk boiling. Bulk boiling can provide adequate heat transfer provided that the steam bubbles are carried away from the heat transfer surface and the surface is continually wetted with liquid water. When this cannot occur film boiling results. Film Boiling When the pressure of a system drops or the flow decreases, the bubbles cannot escape as quickly from the heat transfer surface. Likewise, if the temperature of the heat transfer surface is increased, more bubbles are created. As the temperature continues to increase, more bubbles are formed than can be efficiently carried away. The bubbles grow and group together, covering small areas of the heat transfer surface with a film of steam. This is known as partial film boiling. Since steam has a lower convective heat transfer coefficient than water, the steam patches on the heat transfer surface act to insulate the surface making heat transfer more difficult. As the area of the heat transfer surface covered with steam increases, the temperature of the surface increases dramatically, while the heat flux from the surface decreases. This unstable situation continues until the affected surface is covered by a stable blanket of steam, preventing contact between the heat transfer surface and the liquid in the center of the flow channel. The condition after the stable steam blanket has formed is referred to as film boiling. The process of going from nucleate boiling to film boiling is graphically represented in Figure 13. The figure illustrates the effect of boiling on the relationship between the heat flux and the temperature difference between the heat transfer surface and the fluid passing it. Rev. 0 Page 41 HT-02