An Improved Mechanistic Model to Predict Critical Heat Flux in Subcooled and Low Quality Convective Boiling

An improved mechanistic model was developed to predict a convective boiling critical heat flux (CHF) in the vertical round tubes with uniform heat fluxes. The CHF formula for subcooled and low quality boiling was derived from the local conservation equations of mass, energy and momentum, together with appropriate constitutive relations. The model is characterized by the momentum balance equation to determine the limiting transverse interchange of mass flux crossing the interface of wall bubbly layer and core by taking account of the convective shear effect due to the frictional drag on the wall-attached bubbles. Comparison between the present model predictions and experimental CHF data from several sources shows good agreement over a wide range of How conditions. The present model shows comparable prediction accuracy with the CHF look-up table of Groeneveld et al. Also the model correctly accounts for the effects of flow variables as well as geometry parameters.