Subcooled flow boiling was experimentally investigated in a horizontal annulus with a temperature-controlled boiling surface and transparent outer pipe facilitating visualization. Boiling occurs on a copper tube with a diameter of 12 mm in an annulus with a 2 mm gap. Refrigerant R245fa is used as a working fluid. The focus of this study is to explore the effect of heat flux variation on the boiling flow patterns at approximately constant inlet flow conditions of the working fluid (fixed mass flux and inlet fluid temperature). Subcooled flow boiling is recorded by a high-speed camera, images are analyzed by a neural network to determine the bubble size distributions and their variation with the heat flux. The experimental setup being a part of the laboratory THELMA (Thermal Hydraulics experimental Laboratory for Multiphase Applications) at the Reactor Engineering Division of Jožef Stefan Institute, analysis methods and measurement results are presented and discussed.
Subcooled flow boiling in a horizontal annular test section was investigated in a temperature-controlled experimental setup. The annular test section is installed as a part of the laboratory THELMA (Thermal Hydraulics experimental Laboratory for Multiphase Applications) built at Reactor Engineering Division of Jožef Stefan Institute. The unique characteristics of the temperature-controlled heating of the inner tube, in principle allow for a wide range of measurements, from subcooled boiling to the critical heat flux and above into the unstable film boiling regime. Transparent outer tube and a high-speed camera allow for visual investigation of two-phase boiling structures. In this study, first measurements of heat fluxes and visualization of flow boiling of refrigerant R245fa in horizontal annular configuration are presented and discussed.
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