Chapter 6: Boiling and

Condensation
Faculty of Chemical Engineering
UiTM Pasir Gudang

Copyright © The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. Permission required for reproduction or display.
 Objectives
When you finish studying this chapter, you should be
able to:
• Differentiate between evaporation and boiling, and
gain familiarity with different types of boiling,
• Develop a good understanding of the boiling curve,
and the different boiling regimes corresponding to
different regions of the boiling curve,
• Calculate the heat flux and its critical value
associated with nucleate boiling, and examine the
methods of boiling heat transfer enhancement,
• Calculate the heat flux associated with condensation
on inclined and horizontal plates, vertical and
horizontal cylinders or spheres, and tube bundles,
 Boiling Heat Transfer
• Evaporation occurs at • Boiling occurs at the
the liquid–vapor solid–liquid interface
interface when the when a liquid is brought
vapor pressure is less into contact with a
than the saturation surface maintained at a
pressure of temperature sufficiently
above the saturation
the liquid
temperature of the liquid
at a given
temperature.
 Classification of boiling
Pool Boiling Flow Boiling
• Boiling is called pool • Boiling is called flow
boiling in the absence boiling in the presence
of bulk fluid flow. of bulk fluid flow.
• Any motion of the fluid • In flow boiling, the fluid
is due to natural is forced to move in a
convection currents and heated pipe
the motion of the
bubbles or over a
under the surface by
influence external
of buoyancy. means such
as a pump.
 Classification of boiling
Subcooled Boiling Saturated Boiling
• When the temperature of • When the temperature of
the main body of the the liquid is equal to the
liquid is below the saturation temperature.
saturation temperature.
 Pool Boiling
Boiling takes different forms, depending on the DTexcess=Ts-Tsat
 Natural Convection (to Point A on the
Boiling Curve)
• Bubbles do not form on the heating surface until the
liquid is heated a few degrees above the saturation
temperature (about 2 to 6°C for water)
the liquid is slightly superheated in this
case (metastable state).
• The fluid motion in this mode of boiling is governed
by natural convection currents.
• Heat transfer from the heating surface to the fluid is
by natural convection.
 Nucleate Boiling
• The bubbles form at an increasing rate at an
increasing number of nucleation sites as we
move along the boiling curve toward point C.
• Region A–B ─isolated bubbles.
• Region B–C ─ numerous continuous columns
of vapor in the liquid.
 Nucleate Boiling
• In region A–B the stirring and agitation caused by
the entrainment of the liquid to the heater surface is
primarily responsible for the increased heat transfer
coefficient.
• In region A–B the large heat fluxes obtainable in this
region are caused by the combined effect of liquid
entrainment and evaporation.
• After point B the heat flux increases at a lower rate
with increasing DTexcess, and reaches a maximum at
point C.
• The heat flux at this point is called the critical (or
maximum) heat flux, and is of prime engineering
importance.
 Transition Boiling
• When DTexcess is increased past point C, the heat flux
decreases.
• This is because a large fraction of the heater surface is
covered by a vapor film, which acts as an insulation.
• In the transition boiling regime, both nucleate and film
boiling partially occur.
 Film Boiling
• Beyond Point D the heater surface is completely
covered by a continuous stable vapor film.
• Point D, where the heat flux reaches a minimum is
called the Leidenfrost point.
• The presence of a vapor film between the heater
surface and the liquid is responsible for the low heat
transfer rates in the film boiling region.
• The heat transfer rate increases with increasing
excess temperature due to radiation to the liquid.
 Burnout Phenomenon
• A typical boiling process does not follow the boiling
curve beyond point C. C E
• When the power applied to the
heated surface exceeded the
value at point C even slightly,
the surface temperature
increased suddenly to point E. D
• When the power is reduced
gradually starting from point E
the cooling curve follows Fig. 10–8 with a sudden
drop in excess temperature when point D is
reached.
 Heat Transfer Correlations in Pool
Boiling
• Boiling regimes differ considerably in their
character
different heat transfer relations need
to be used for different boiling regimes.
• In the natural convection boiling regime heat
transfer rates can be accurately determined
using natural convection relations.
 Heat Transfer Correlations in Pool
Boiling ─ Nucleate Boiling
• No general theoretical relations for heat transfer in
the nucleate boiling regime is available.
• Experimental based correlations are used.
• The rate of heat transfer strongly depends on the
nature of nucleation and the type and the condition
of the heated surface.
• A widely used correlation proposed in 1952 by
Rohsenow:
 Heat Transfer Correlations in Pool
Boiling ─ Nucleate Boiling
• The values in Rohsenow equation can be used for
any geometry since it is found that the rate of heat
transfer during nucleate boiling is essentially
independent of the geometry and orientation of the
heated surface.
• The correlation is applicable to clean and relatively
smooth surfaces.
• Error for the heat transfer rate for a given excess
temperature: 100%.
• Error for the excess temperature for a given heat
transfer rate: 30%.
 Critical Heat Flux (CHF)
• The maximum (or critical) heat flux in nucleate pool boiling
was determined theoretically by S. S. Kutateladze in Russia
in 1948 and N. Zuber in the United States in 1958 to be:
1
 l   v   4
qmax  Ccr h fg  g  2
v

Ccr is a constant whose value depends on the heater

geometry, but generally is about 0.15.
• The CHF is independent of the fluid–heating surface
combination, as well as the viscosity, thermal conductivity,
and the specific heat of the liquid.
• The CHF increases with pressure up to about one-third of
the critical pressure, and then starts to decrease and
becomes zero at the critical pressure.
• The CHF is proportional to hfg, and large maximum heat
fluxes can be obtained using fluids with a large enthalpy of
vaporization, such as water.
 Minimum Heat Flux
• Minimum heat flux, which occurs at the Leidenfrost
point, is of practical interest since it represents the
lower limit for the heat flux in the film boiling
regime.
• Zuber derived the following expression for the
minimum heat flux for a large horizontal plate
1
  g  l   v   4

qmax  0.09 v h fg  
  l  v  
2

• the relation above can be in error by

50% or more.
 Film Boiling
• The heat flux for film boiling on a horizontal
cylinder or sphere of diameter D is given by
1
 gkv3 v  l  v   h fg  0.4C pv Ts  Tsat    4
 
q film  C film  Ts  Tsat 
 v D Ts  Tsat  

• At high surface temperatures (typically above 300°C), heat

transfer across the vapor film by radiation becomes
significant and needs to be considered.
• The two mechanisms of heat transfer (radiation and
convection) adversely affect each other, causing the total
heat transfer to be less than their sum.
• Experimental studies confirm that the critical heat flux and
heat flux in film boiling are proportional to g1/4.
Enhancement of Heat Transfer in Pool
Boiling
• The rate of heat transfer in the nucleate boiling regime
strongly depends on the number of active nucleation sites on
the surface, and the rate of bubble formation at each site.
• Therefore, modification that enhances nucleation on the
heating surface will also enhance heat transfer in nucleate
boiling.
• Irregularities on the heating surface, including roughness and
dirt, serve as additional nucleation
sites during boiling.
• The effect of surface roughness is
observed to decay with time.
Enhancement of Heat Transfer in Pool
Boiling
• Surfaces that provide enhanced heat transfer in
nucleate boiling permanently are being manufactured
and are available in the market.
• Heat transfer can be enhanced by a factor of up to 10
during nucleate boiling, and the
critical heat flux by a factor of 3.

Thermoexcel-E
 Condensation
• Condensation occurs when the temperature of
a vapor is reduced below its saturation
temperature.
• Only condensation on solid surfaces is
considered in this chapter.
• Two forms of condensation:
– Film condensation,
– Dropwise condensation.
 Film condensation Dropwise condensation
• The condensate wets the • The condensed vapor forms
surface and forms a liquid droplets on the surface.
film. • The droplets slide down
• The surface is blanketed by when they reach a certain
a liquid film which serves as size.
a resistance to heat transfer. • No liquid film to resist heat
transfer.
• As a result, heat transfer
rates that are more than 10
times larger
than with film
condensation
can be achieved.
Film Condensation on a Vertical Plate
• liquid film starts forming at the
top of the plate and flows
downward under the influence of
gravity.
• d increases in the flow direction x
• Heat in the amount hfg is released
during condensation and is
transferred through the film to the
plate surface.
• Ts must be below the saturation
temperature for condensation.
• The temperature of the condensate
is Tsat at the interface and
decreases gradually to Ts at the
wall.
 Vertical Plate ─ Flow Regimes
• The dimensionless parameter
controlling the transition between
regimes is the Reynolds number
defined as:
hydraulic diameter  Dh 

Re x 
 4d  lVl
l
• Three prime flow regimes:
– Re<30 ─ Laminar (wave-free),
– 30<Re<1800 ─ Wavy-laminar,
– Re>1800 ─ Turbulent.
• The Reynolds number increases in the
flow direction.
 Heat Transfer Correlations for Film
Condensation ─ Vertical wall
Assumptions:
1. Both the plate and the vapor are
maintained at constant temperatures of Ts
and Tsat, respectively, and the temperature
across the liquid film varies linearly.
2. Heat transfer across the liquid film is by
pure conduction.
3. The velocity of the vapor is low (or zero)
so that it exerts no drag on the condensate
(no viscous shear on the liquid–vapor
interface).
4. The flow of the condensate is laminar
(Re<30) and the properties of the liquid
are constant.
5. The acceleration of the condensate layer is Height L and width b
negligible.
• It is observed to underpredict heat transfer
because it does not take into account the
effects of the nonlinear temperature profile
in the liquid film and the cooling of the liquid
below the saturation temperature.
• Both of these effects can be accounted for by
replacing hfg by modified h*fg to yield
 g l  l   v  h k
14
1 L 4
* 3

h   hx dx  hx  L  0.943 
fg l

 l Tsat  Ts  L
(10-22)
L 0 3 

0 <Re<30
• When v«l (and thus l-v≈l). Using this
approximation and substituting Eqs. 10–14 and 10–18 at
x =L into the Reynolds number definition by noting that
dx=L=kl/hx=L and havg=4/3hx=L (Eqs. 10–19 and 10–21)
give
4 g l  l   v  d
3
 kl  (10-23)
3
4 g   kl 
3 2
4g
Re   l
   2  
3l2 3  hx  L 
l
2
3 l  3havg / 4 
• Then the average heat transfer coefficient in terms of
Re becomes 1/ 3
 g 
havg  1.47kl Re 1/ 3
 2 v l (10-24)
 l 

• The results obtained from the theoretical relations

above are in excellent agreement with the
experimental results.
 Wavy Laminar Flow on Vertical
Plates
• The waves at the liquid–vapor interface tend to
increase heat transfer.
• Knowledge is based on experimental studies.
• The increase in heat transfer due to the wave effect is,
on average, about 20 percent, but it can exceed 50
percent.
• Based on his experimental studies, Kutateladze
(1963) recommended the following relation
1/ 3
Re kl  g 
havg , wavy   2 ; v l
1.08 Re  5.2   l 
1.22
 Turbulent Flow on Vertical Plates
• Labuntsov (1957) proposed the following relation
for the turbulent flow of condensate on vertical
plates: 1/ 3
Re kl  g 
havg ,turbulent  2
8750  58 Pr 0.5  
Re  253   l 
0.75

• The physical properties of the condensate are to

be evaluated at the film temperature.
Nondimensionalized Heat Transfer
Coefficients