The Effects of Nucleate Boiling Versus Film Boiling on Heat Transfer in Power Boiler Tubes

In large, subcritical pressure, once-through power boilers heat is transferred to steam and water mixtures ranging in steam quality from zero per cent at the bottom of the furnace to 100 per cent at the top. In order to provide design information for this type of boiler, heat-transfer coefficients for forced convection film boiling were determined for water at 3000 psia flowing upward in a vertical stainless-steel tube, AISI Type 304, having an inside diameter of 0.408 inches and a heated length of 6 feet. Heat fluxes ranged between 90,000 and 180,000 Btu/hr-sq ft and were obtained by electrical resistance heating of the tube. The operation of the experimental equipment was controlled so that nucleate boiling, transition boiling, and stable film boiling occurred simultaneously in different zones of the tube. The film boiling data were correlated with a modified form of the equation Nu = a a(Re)^m(Pr)ⁿ using steam properties evaluated at inside surface temperature. Results of a second series of heat-transfer tests with tubes having a helical rib on the inside surface showed that nucleate boiling could be maintained to much higher steam qualities with that type of tube than with a smooth-bore tube.