Review of numerical studies of boiling two-phase flow in smooth tubes

Abstract

The rapid and continuous depletion in the available energy resources nowadays has resulted in the quest for alternative sources of energy and more energy efficient processes. This review article present a broad and critical review of past researches on flow boiling and condensation, basically to provide a comprehensive understanding of both boiling and condensation heat transfer (HT) process as they are important phenomena that find application in various areas in the thermal science field and industry which includes; power generation, refrigeration and air conditioning, nuclear reactors, chemical engineering, high-power electronics component cooling and so on. An in-depth understanding of this phenomenon will help to know how to attain very high heat transfer rates with small variations in the surface temperature. Consequentially, this results in better energy efficient process with huge reduction in system size, volume and energy consumption, hence significant fall in the heat energy required to undertake the process. Fundamental parameters affecting these phenomena such as the classification of channel and their applications based on their properties and advantages, flow patterns and heat transfer mechanisms, heat transfer coefficient and critical heat flux are fully discussed. Finally, recommendation are made to provide clue for future researches in this area.