A Systematic Approach to Predicting Critical Heat Flux for Inclined Sprays

Abstract

This study provides a new systematic approach to predicting the effects of spray inclination on critical heat flux (CHF). Experiments were performed with three pressure spray nozzles over a broad range of inclination angles at five flow rates and subcoolings of 15°C and 25°C. These experiments also included high-speed video analysis of spray formation, impact, and recoil for a 1.0×1.0cm2 test surface. Inclined sprays produced elliptical impact areas, distorted by lateral liquid flow that provided partial resistance to dryout along the downstream edge of the impact ellipse. These observations are used to determine the locations of CHF commencement along the test surface. A new theoretical model shows that increasing inclination angle away from normal decreases both the spray impact area and the volumetric flux. These trends explain the observed trend of decreasing CHF with increasing inclination angle. Combining the new model with a previous point-based CHF correlation shows great success in predicting the effects of spray inclination on CHF.