Water Flow Boiling in Micro/Mini Channels Using Volume of Fluid Model
Recent advancements in computational fluid dynamics (CFD) have triggered research in the field of heat exchangers. Driven by the need to decrease the size of heat exchangers, many researchers have exploited the higher heat transfer achieved by replacing single-phase flow systems with boiling counter...
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MDPI AG
2024-01-01
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| Series: | Applied Sciences |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2076-3417/14/2/759 |
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| author | Muhammad Umer Khan Mughal Khalid Waheed Muhammad Imran Sadiq Altaf Hossain Molla Zambri Harun Amin Etminan |
| author_facet | Muhammad Umer Khan Mughal Khalid Waheed Muhammad Imran Sadiq Altaf Hossain Molla Zambri Harun Amin Etminan |
| author_sort | Muhammad Umer Khan Mughal |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Recent advancements in computational fluid dynamics (CFD) have triggered research in the field of heat exchangers. Driven by the need to decrease the size of heat exchangers, many researchers have exploited the higher heat transfer achieved by replacing single-phase flow systems with boiling counterparts. The concept of using mini-channels to provide compact heat exchangers while maintaining heat transfer performance is relatively new. A minimal number of researchers have reported simulations of water-steam systems in mini-channels. This paper presents a numerical study of the heat transfer performance (HTP) of mini channels in a water-steam system using the volume of fluid (VOF) model coupled with the Lee phase change model on commercial CFD software ANSYS. The numerical model consisted of a <inline-formula><math xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" display="inline"><semantics><mrow><mn>1</mn><mrow><mo> </mo><mi>mm</mi><mo> </mo><mo>×</mo><mo> </mo><mn>1.5</mn><mo> </mo><mi>mm</mi><mo> </mo><mo>×</mo><mo> </mo><mn>52</mn><mo> </mo><mi>mm</mi></mrow></mrow></semantics></math></inline-formula> channel with boundary conditions: top adiabatic; constant heat flux at the bottom surface; left/right periodic; mass flow inlet and pressure outlet. A mesh independence study was carried out for the proposed model, and simulations were validated against the experimental results of heat transfer versus vapor quality for a wide range of mass and heat fluxes. The VOF model best predicts experimental HTC at high mass fluxes, although the results at low mass fluxes were predicted with reasonable accuracy. Based on the agreement of numerical and numerical results, the VOF model turned out to be a promising candidate for designing compact micro/mini channel heat exchangers. |
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| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-08T09:59:10Z |
| publishDate | 2024-01-01 |
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| series | Applied Sciences |
| spelling | doaj.art-c0c5530c6e0747cabc0bcf36c5228df32024-01-29T13:44:15ZengMDPI AGApplied Sciences2076-34172024-01-0114275910.3390/app14020759Water Flow Boiling in Micro/Mini Channels Using Volume of Fluid ModelMuhammad Umer Khan Mughal0Khalid Waheed1Muhammad Imran Sadiq2Altaf Hossain Molla3Zambri Harun4Amin Etminan5Department of Mechanical Engineering, Pakistan Institute of Engineering and Applied Sciences (PIEAS), Islamabad 46000, PakistanDepartment of Mechanical Engineering, Pakistan Institute of Engineering and Applied Sciences (PIEAS), Islamabad 46000, PakistanDepartment of Mechanical and Manufacturing Engineering, Faculty of Engineering and Built Environment, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (UKM), Bangi 43600, MalaysiaDepartment of Mechanical and Manufacturing Engineering, Faculty of Engineering and Built Environment, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (UKM), Bangi 43600, MalaysiaDepartment of Mechanical and Manufacturing Engineering, Faculty of Engineering and Built Environment, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (UKM), Bangi 43600, MalaysiaDepartment of Mechanical Engineering, Faculty of Engineering and Applied Science, Memorial University of Newfoundland (MUN), St. John’s, NL A1B 3X5, CanadaRecent advancements in computational fluid dynamics (CFD) have triggered research in the field of heat exchangers. Driven by the need to decrease the size of heat exchangers, many researchers have exploited the higher heat transfer achieved by replacing single-phase flow systems with boiling counterparts. The concept of using mini-channels to provide compact heat exchangers while maintaining heat transfer performance is relatively new. A minimal number of researchers have reported simulations of water-steam systems in mini-channels. This paper presents a numerical study of the heat transfer performance (HTP) of mini channels in a water-steam system using the volume of fluid (VOF) model coupled with the Lee phase change model on commercial CFD software ANSYS. The numerical model consisted of a <inline-formula><math xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" display="inline"><semantics><mrow><mn>1</mn><mrow><mo> </mo><mi>mm</mi><mo> </mo><mo>×</mo><mo> </mo><mn>1.5</mn><mo> </mo><mi>mm</mi><mo> </mo><mo>×</mo><mo> </mo><mn>52</mn><mo> </mo><mi>mm</mi></mrow></mrow></semantics></math></inline-formula> channel with boundary conditions: top adiabatic; constant heat flux at the bottom surface; left/right periodic; mass flow inlet and pressure outlet. A mesh independence study was carried out for the proposed model, and simulations were validated against the experimental results of heat transfer versus vapor quality for a wide range of mass and heat fluxes. The VOF model best predicts experimental HTC at high mass fluxes, although the results at low mass fluxes were predicted with reasonable accuracy. Based on the agreement of numerical and numerical results, the VOF model turned out to be a promising candidate for designing compact micro/mini channel heat exchangers.https://www.mdpi.com/2076-3417/14/2/759mini/micro-channel flow boilingmini-channel steam generatorsteam-water systemtwo-phase flowflow boiling CFD |
| spellingShingle | Muhammad Umer Khan Mughal Khalid Waheed Muhammad Imran Sadiq Altaf Hossain Molla Zambri Harun Amin Etminan Water Flow Boiling in Micro/Mini Channels Using Volume of Fluid Model Applied Sciences mini/micro-channel flow boiling mini-channel steam generator steam-water system two-phase flow flow boiling CFD |
| title | Water Flow Boiling in Micro/Mini Channels Using Volume of Fluid Model |
| title_full | Water Flow Boiling in Micro/Mini Channels Using Volume of Fluid Model |
| title_fullStr | Water Flow Boiling in Micro/Mini Channels Using Volume of Fluid Model |
| title_full_unstemmed | Water Flow Boiling in Micro/Mini Channels Using Volume of Fluid Model |
| title_short | Water Flow Boiling in Micro/Mini Channels Using Volume of Fluid Model |
| title_sort | water flow boiling in micro mini channels using volume of fluid model |
| topic | mini/micro-channel flow boiling mini-channel steam generator steam-water system two-phase flow flow boiling CFD |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2076-3417/14/2/759 |
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