Heat Transfer Engineering, Vol.32, No.13-14, 1150-1159, 2011
One-Dimensional Semimechanistic Model for Flow Boiling Pressure Drop in Small to Micro Passages
Accurate predictions of two-phase pressure drop in small to micro-diameter passages are necessary for the design of compact and ultra-compact heat exchangers, which find wide application in process and refrigeration industries and in the cooling of electronics. A semimechanistic model of boiling two-phase pressure drop in the confined bubble regime is formulated, following the three-zone approach for heat transfer. The total pressure drop is calculated by time-averaging the pressure drops for single-phase liquid, elongated bubble with a thin liquid film, and single-phase vapor. The model results were compared with experimental data collected for a wide range of tube diameters (4.26, 2.88, 2.02, 1.1, and 0.52 mm) for R134a at pressures of 6-12 bar. In this model's present form, its predictions are close to those of the homogeneous flow model but it provides a platform for further development.