A Mechanistic Critical Heat Flux Model for High-Subcooling, High-Mass-Flux, and Small-Tube Diameter Conditions

Abstract

A mechanistic model based on wall-attached bubble coalescence, previously developed by the authors, was extended to predict a vow high critical heat flux (CHF)in highly subcooled flow boiling, especially for high mass flux and small tube diameter conditions. In order to take into account the enhanced condensation due to high subcooling and high mass velocity in small diameter tubes, a mechanistic approach was adopted to evaluate the non-equilibrium flow quality and void fraction in the subcooled water flow boiling, with preserving the structure of the previous CHF model. Comparison of the model predictions against highly subcooled water CHF data showed relatively good agreement over a wide range of parameters. The significance of the proposed CHF model lies in its generality in applying over the entire subcooled flow boiling regime including the operating conditions of fission and fusion reactors.