Heat Transfer for Pharmaceutical Engineers

UNIT-4, PART I
Heat transfer to fluids with phase change:
Heat transfer from condensing vapors, heat transfer to boiling liquids.

Introduction
The knowledge of thermodynamics indicates that when the temperature of a liquid at a specified pressure
is raised to the saturation temperature, Tsat at that pressure, boiling occurs. When the vapor temperature
is lowered to Tsat, condensation occurs. In this chapter the rates of heat transfer during such phase
transformations of liquid to vapor and vapor to liquid is studied.
Although boiling and condensation exhibit. Some unique features, they are considered to be forms of
convection heat transfer since they involve fluid motion such as rise of bubbles to the top and the flow
of condensate to the bottom. Boiling and condensation differ from other forms of convection in that they
depend on the latent heat of vaporization (hfg) of the fluid and the surface tension (σ) at the liquid vapor
interface, in addition to the properties of the fluid in each phase.
Heat transfer coefficients ‘h’ associated with boiling and condensation are typically several times higher
than those encountered in other forms of convection processes that involve a single phase.

CONDENSATION HEAT TRANSFER:

Condensation occurs when the temperature of a vapor is reduced below its saturation temperature. Tsat,
this is usually done by bringing the vapor into contact with a solid surface whose temperature Ts is below
the saturation temperature. Tsat of the vapor. But condensation can occur on the free surface of a liquid
or even in a gas when the temperature of the liquid or the gas to which the vapor is exposed is below Tsat.
In the latter case, the liquid droplets suspended in the gas form a fog. Here, for our study, we will be
considering the condensation on solid surface only.
Two distinct forms of condensation are observed:
Film condensation and drop wise condensation
Film condensation: In film condensation, the condensate wets the surface and forms a liquid film on the
surface that slides down under the influence of gravity. The thickness of the liquid film increases in the
flow direction as more vapor condenses on the film. This is how condensation normally occurs in
practice. As discussed, in film condensation, the surface is blanketed by a liquid film of increasing
thickness, and this “liquid wall” between solid surface and the vapor serves as a resistance to heat
transfer. The heat of vaporization released (hfg) as the vapor condenses must pass through this resistance
before reaching the solid surface and be transferred to the medium on the other side. Considering film
condensation on a vertical plate, the liquid film starts forming at the top of the plate and flows downward
under the influence of gravity. The thickness of the film ‘δ’ increases in the flow direction ‘x’ because
of continued condensation at the liquid vapor interface. Heat is released in the form of latent heat of

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vaporization, during condensation and is transferred through the film to the plate surface at temperature,
Ts. Typical velocity and temperature profile are shown in the figure.

Note that the velocity of the condensate at the wall is zero because of the “no-slip” condition and reaches
a maximum at the liquid-vapor interface. The temperature of the condensate is Tsat at the interface and
decreases gradually to Ts at the wall

Heat transfer correlations for film condensation

Vertical Plates: Consider a vertical plate of height L and width b maintained at a constant temperature.
Ts that is exposed to vapor at the saturation temperature Tsat. The downward direction is taken as positive
x-direction with the origin at the top of the plate where condensation initiates. The surface temperature
is below the saturation temperature (Ts < Tsat) and thus the vapor condenses on the surface, the liquid
film flows downwards under the influence of gravity. The film thickness δ and thus the mass flow rate
of the condensate increases with ‘x’ as a result of continued condensation on the existing film. Then heat
transfer from vapor to the plate must occur through the film, which offer resistance to heat transfer. The
thicker the film, the larger the thermal resistance and thus lower the rate of heat transfer. The analytical
relation for the heat transfer coefficient in film condensation on a vertical plate was first developed by
Nusselt in 1916 under the following simplifying assumptions:

Analysis for condensation on a vertical flat plate:

Assumptions:

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1. Film of liquid flows under the influence of gravity.

2. The flow is assumed to be laminar every where
3. Viscous shear and gravitational forces are assumed to act
on the fluid, thus normal viscous force and inertial forces
are neglected.
4. There is no viscous shear between the liquid and the
vapor phases.
5. A uniform surface temperature Tw is assumed.
6. The acceleration in the condensate layer is negligible.
7. Heat transfer across the liquid film is by conduction only,
consider a differential element of thickness dxdy, at a
distance ‘x’ from top of the plate.
The Newton’s second law of motion for the volume element in
the vertical x-direction can be written as
∑ Fx = max Since the acceleration of the fluid is zero.

Nothing that the only force acting downward is the weight of

the liquid element, and the forces acting upward are the viscous
shear (or fluid friction) force at the left and the buoyancy force, the force balance on the volume
element becomes,

Fdownward ↓ = Fupward ↑

Weight = Viscous shear force + Buoyancy force

du
(i.e.) ꝭLg(δ-y)(bdx) = µL (bdx) + ꝭvg (δ-y)(bdx) (Explanation)
dy

(τA) τ=stress F=mg

du
µl *A =ꝭvg
dy

v=distance*area
ꝭLg(δ-y)(bdx)
Neglecting the buoyancy force
du
ꝭLg(δ-y) = µL
dy

du ꝭg(δ−y) ꝭg(δ−y)
= or du = ∗ dy
dy µL µL

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Integrating the above equation,

ꝭg 𝑦2
u(y) = (δy − ) + c1
µL 2

at y=0, u=0, no slip condition.

Applying the above B.C C1 = 0

ꝭg 𝑦2
⸫ u(y) = (δy − )
µL 2

The rate of heat transfer from vapor to the plate through the liquid film is equal to the amount of heat
released as the vapor is condensed, and expresses as

dQ̇ = d ṁ λ

The mass flowrate of the condensate at a location x, where the boundary thickness is δ is

δ ꝭ2 g bδ 𝑦2 𝑦2
ṁ(x) = ∫𝐴 ꝭu(y) dA = ∫0 ꝭu(y)bdy = ∫ (δy − )dy w.k.t u(y) =
ꝭg
(δy − )
µL 0 2 µL 2

δ
ꝭ2 g b δy2 y3
= | − |
µL 2 6 0

ꝭ2 g b δ3 δ3
=
µL
(2 − 6
)

ꝭ2 g b δ3
=
µL
(3)

ꝭ2 g bδ3
ṁ=
3µL

Differentiating above equation w.r.t. x,

dṁ 3ꝭ2 g bδ2 dδ ꝭ2 g bδ2 dδ

= = ………………. i
dx 3µL dx µL dx

The heat transferred from vapor to the plate is only by conduction. So, by Fourier’s law, we have
(T𝑠𝑎𝑡 −𝑇𝑠)
dQ = K(bdx)
δ

dQ = dṁ λ

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dQ (T𝑠𝑎𝑡 −𝑇𝑠)
dṁ = = K(bdx)
𝛌 𝛌δ
dṁ (T𝑠𝑎𝑡 −𝑇𝑠)
= K(b) ……………………………… ii
dx 𝛌δ
Equating i & ii
ꝭ2 g bδ2 dδ (T𝑠𝑎𝑡 −𝑇𝑠)
= K(b)
µL dx 𝛌δ

ꝭ2 g δ3 dδ K(T𝑠𝑎𝑡 −𝑇𝑠)
=
µL dx 𝛌

Integrating the above equation,

ꝭ2 g δ 4 Kx(T𝑠𝑎𝑡 −𝑇𝑠)
= + c2
4µL 𝛌

B.C at x=0, δ = 0 C2 = 0

4µL Kx(T𝑠𝑎𝑡 −𝑇𝑠)

δ4 =
𝛌ꝭ2 g
1
4µ Kx(T𝑠𝑎𝑡 −𝑇𝑠) 4
δ = [ L ]
𝛌ꝭ2 g

The heat transfer rate from the vapor to the plate at a location ‘x’ can be expressed as
KA(T𝑠𝑎𝑡 −𝑇𝑠)
q = hx A(T𝑠𝑎𝑡 − 𝑇𝑠) =
δ𝑤

K𝑙
hx =
δ𝑤
1
2
K𝑙 ꝭ g 𝛌K3 4
⸫ hx = 1 = [ ]
4µKx(T𝑠𝑎𝑡 −𝑇𝑠) 4
4µx(T𝑠𝑎𝑡 −𝑇𝑠)
[ ]
𝛌ꝭ2 g

The average coefficient for a vertical tube, for laminar flow of the condensate is 4/3 times the local
coefficient at the bottom of the tube
1
2
1 L 4 4 gꝭ 𝛌K3 4
h = havg = ∫0 h𝑥 dx = hx=L = ∗ 0.707 ∗ [ ]
L 3 3 µ(T𝑠𝑎𝑡 −𝑇𝑠)x

⸪Over the entire length of the plate x=L

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1
g ꝭ2 𝛌K3 4
⸫ h = 0.943[ ]
µ(T𝑠𝑎𝑡 −𝑇𝑠)L
1
2 3
gꝭ 𝛌K 4
h = 0.943[ ]
µ(ΔT)L

Interms of liquid loading T = ṁ/L

1 −1
µ2𝑓 3 4T𝑏 3
h( ) = 1.47( )
K3𝑓 ꝭ2𝑓 g µ𝑓

Horizontal tubes:
1
K3 ꝭ2 g 𝛌 4
h = 0.725[ ]
(ΔT)Do µ𝑓

(or)
1 −1
µ2𝑓 3 4Γ′ 3
h( ) = 1.51( )
K3𝑓 ꝭ2𝑓 g µ𝑓

On horizontal tubes, the flow of the condensate is always laminar.

Film type condensation on horizontal tube bank consisting of ‘N’ no. of tubes.
1
K3 ꝭ2 g 𝛌 4 1
havg = 0.725[ ] = 1 horizontal tube
(ΔT)Do Nµ𝑓
N4
4T
Reynold’s no. is sometimes expressed as .
µ𝑓

1
Inclined plates: hinclined = hvertical (cosΘ) 4

1
hvertical D 4
= 1.29( )
hhorizontal L

Dropwise Condensation
Dropwise condensation characterized by countless droplets of varying diameters on the condensing
surface instead of a continuous liquid film, is one of the most effective mechanisms of heat transfer, and
extremely large heat transfer coefficients can be achieved with this mechanism.

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In dropwise condensation, the small droplets that form at the nucleation sites on the Surface grow as a
result of continued condensation, coalesce into large droplets, and slide down when they react a certain
size, clearing the surface and exposing it to vapor. There is no liquid film in this case to resist heat
transfer. As a result, with dropwise condensation, heat transfer coefficient can be achieved that are more
than 10 times larger than those associated with film condensation. Large heat transfer coefficients enable
designers to achieve a specified heat transfer rate with a smaller surface area, and thus a smaller (and less
expensive) condenser. Therefore, dropwise condensation is the preferred mode of condensation in heat
transfer.
The challenge in dropwise condensation is not to achieve it, but rather, to sustain it for prolonged periods
of time. Dropwise condensation is achieved by adding promoting chemical into the vapor, treating the
surface with the promoter chemical, or coating the surface with a polymer such as Teflon or a Noble
metals such as gold, silver, rhodium, Palladium or platinum. The promoters used include various waxes
and fatty acids such as oleic, stearic and linoleic acids. They lose their effectiveness after a while,
however because of fouling, oxidation, and removal of the promoter from the surface. It is possible to
sustain dropwise condensation for over a year by the combined effects of surface coating and periodic
injection of the promoter into the vapor. However, any gain in heat transfer must be weighed against the
coast associated with sustaining dropwise condensation.
Dropwise condensation has been studied experimentally for a no of surface fluid combinations. Of these,
the studies on the condensation of steam on copper surfaces has attracted the most attention because of
their widespread use in steam power plants.
P. Griffith (1986) suggested some simple correlations for dropwise condensation of steam in copper
surface.
51, 104 + 2044 Tsat 22oC < Tsat<100 oC

hdropwise =
2,55,310 Tsat > 100 oC

Where Tsat is in oC and the heat transfer coefficient hdropwise is in w/m2 oC

The very high heat transfer coefficients achievable with dropwise condensation are of little significance
if the material of the condensing surface is not a good conductor like copper or if the thermal on the other
side of the surface is too large. In steady operation, heat transfer from one medium to another depends
on the sum of the thermal resistance is on the path of heat flow, and a large thermal resistance may
overshadow all others and dominate the heat transfer process. In such cases, imposing the accuracy of a
small resistance (such as one due to condensation or boiling) makes hardly and difference in overall heat
transfer calculations.
Effect of vapor velocity:
During normal analysis, the most usual case, the vapor velocity is assumed to be small and thus the vapor
drag exerted on the liquid is negligible. But if since the vapor velocity is very high, the vapor carries the
liquid along with it at the interface, since the vapor velocity must drop to the liquid velocity. If the vapor

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is flowing downward in the same direction as the liquid, the vapor carries with it the liquid in the film,
thereby reducing thickness of the film, by the way reducing the thermal resistance to heat transfer and
increasing the rate of heat transfer. If the vapor flows upward (in the direction opposite to flow), thickens
the liquid film, increases the resistance offered to heat transfer and decreases the rate of heat transfer,
since the vapor will not allow the liquid to fall, thereby increase the thickness.
Effect of the presence of non-condensable gases:
Non-condensable gases like air enters the condensers when operating at less than atmosphere pressure.
Most of the condensers in steam power plants operate at very low pressures (usually 0.1 atm) to maximize
the cycle thermal efficiency. But such low pressures raises the possibility of leaking air into the
condensers. Experimental studies indicated that the pressure of non-condensable gases even in small
amounts brings down the heat transfer rates of condensation drastically. For example, the presence of
1% air (by mass) reduces the condensation heat transfer rate by more than half. On industries it is a
common practice to vent the non-condensable gases.
The drastic reduction in the condensation heat transfer can be explained as follows: when the vapor
mixed with a non-condensable gas condenses, only the non-condensable gases remains in the vicinity of
the surface. This gas layer acts as a barrier between the vapor and the surface and makes it difficult for
the vapor to reach the surface. The vapor must diffuse through the non-condensable gas first, before
reaching the surface, and this reduces the effectiveness of the condensation process. Experimental studies
show that heat transfer in the presence of a non-condensable gas strongly depends on the nature of the
vapor flow and the flow velocity. A high flow velocity is used to remove the non-condensable gas from
the vicinity and improve the heat transfer rate.
Latent heat of vaporization
The latent heat of vaporization ‘λ’ is the heat released when a unit mass of vapor condenses, and it
normally represents the heat transfer per unit mass of condensate formed during condensation. However,
the condensate in an actual condensation process is cooled further to some average temperature between
Tsat and Ts, realising more heat in the process. Therefore, the actual heat transfer will be larger. Cooling
of liquid below the saturation temperature can be accounted for by replacing ‘λ’ by the modified latent
heat of vaporization λ’, defined as
λ’ = λ + 0.68Cpl(Tsat – Ts)
Condensation of superheated vapor:
vf the vapor entering a condenser is superheated, at a temperature Tv instead of as saturated vapor. In
this case the vapor must be cooled first to Tsat before it can condense and this heat must be transferred
to the wall as well. The amount of heat released as a unit mass of superheated vapor at a temperature
‘Tv’ is cooled to Tsat is Cpv(Tv-Tsat), where Cpv is the specific heat of the vapor at the average
temperature of (Tv-Tsat)/2. The modified latent heat of vaporization in this case becomes,
λ’ = λ + 0.68Cpl(Tsat – Ts) + Cpv(Tv – Tsat)

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with these considerations the rate of heat transfer can be expressed as,

Q̇condensation = hAs(Tsat – Ts) = ṁ λ’

where ‘As’ is the heat transfer area (the surface area on which condensation occurs).
𝟒ṁ 𝟒 𝐡𝐀𝐬(𝐓𝐬𝐚𝐭 – 𝐓𝐬)
Re = =
𝐏 µ𝒍 𝐏 𝛌µ𝒍

This relation is convenient to use to determine the Reynolds number which the condensation heat transfer
coefficient or the rate of heat transfer is known.
For turbulent flow in films:
𝟏
µ𝟐𝒇 𝟑 𝟎.𝟒
𝟒𝑻𝒃
h( ) = 0.0076( µ )
𝐊 𝟑𝒇 ꝭ𝟐𝒇 𝐠 𝒇

Wavy laminar flow on vertical plates:

hvertical, wavy = 0.8Re0.11 hvertical(smooth)

𝟏 𝟎.𝟖𝟐𝟎
𝟑.𝟕𝟎𝐋𝐊 𝒍 (𝐓𝐬𝐚𝐭 – 𝐓𝐬) 𝐠 𝟑
Revertical,wavy = [𝟒. 𝟖𝟏 + ( 𝓥𝟐 ) ]
𝛌µ𝒍

BOILING HEAT TRANSFER

Topic discussed: Types of boiling; Boiling curve; Boiling flux; Boiling and Evaporation
Boiling is a liquid to vapor phase change process just like evaporation, but there are significant
differences between the two:
Evaporation: Evaporation occurs at liquid-vapor interface when the vapor pressure is less than the
saturation pressure of the liquid at a given temperature.
Ex: The water in a Lake evaporates at 20oC (sat pressure 2.3 kPa) to air at 20 oC and 60% relative
humidity (vapor pressure is 1.4 kPa). Drying of clothes, fruits, vegetables etc. Evaporation involves no
bubble formation or bubble motion.
Boiling: Boiling occurs at the solid liquid interface when a liquid is brought in contact with the surface
which is maintained at Ts, higher than the Tsat of the liquid.
Ex: Saturation temperature of water is 100oC at 1 atm, when water is brought in contact with a surface
at 110 oC, this boils. The boiling is characterized by formation of vapor bubbles at the solid liquid

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interface, that detach from surface when they reach a certain size and rise to the free surface of the liquid.
Boiling phenomena is complicated because of bubble formation, which involves large number of
parameters (variables) and complex flow patterns. Since boiling is a convective heat transfer, the boiling
heat flux from a solid surface to the fluid is expressed from Newton’s law of cooling as

q̇boiling = h(Ts – Tsat) = h ΔTexcess

where ΔTexcess = Ts – Tsat is called the excess temperature, which represents the excess of the surface
above the saturation temperature of the fluid.
Bubbles owe their existence to the surface tension ‘σ’ at the liquid-vapor interface due to the attraction
force on molecules at the interface towards the liquid phase. The surface tension decreases with
increasing temperature and become zero at the critical temperature. That’s the reason why no bubbles
are forced when boiling the liquids at supercritical pressures and temperatures. Surface tension has the
units N/m.
The boiling processes in practice do not occur under equilibrium conditions, and normally the bubbles
are not in thermodynamic equilibrium with the surrounding liquid. That is, the temperature and pressure
of the vapor in a bubble are usually different from that of the liquid. The pressure difference between the
vapor and liquid is balanced by the surface tension at the interface and the temperature difference
between the vapor in the bubble and the surrounding liquid is the driving force for heat transfer between
the two phases. when the liquid is at a lower temperature than the bubble, heat transfer from the bubble
to the liquid, causing some of the vapor in the bubble to condense and the bubble gradually collapses.
When the liquid temperature is higher than the bubble temperature, heat transfers from liquid to the
bubble, some of the liquid vaporizes to the bubble, bubble grows and rises to the interface.
Boiling is classified as Poor boiling and Flow boiling; Boiling is called Pool Boiling in the absence of
bulk fluid flow. In Pool boiling, the fluid is stationary, and any motion of the fluid is due to natural
convection currents and the motion of the bubbles under the influence of Buoyancy. The boiling of water
in a pan is an example of pool boiling. Pool boiling of fluid can also be achieved by placing a heating
coil in the fluid.
Flow boiling: Boiling in the presence of bulk fluid motion is called as flow boiling. In flow boiling, the
fluid is forced to move in a heated pipe or surface by external means such as a pump. Therefore, flow
boiling is always accompanied by other convection effects.
Pool boiling and flow boiling are further classified as Subcooled Boiling and Saturated Boiling,
depending on the bulk liquid temperature. At the early stages of boiling, the bubbles are confined to a
narrow region near the hot surface. This is because the liquid adjacent to the hot surface vaporizes as a
result of being heated above its saturated temperature. But these bubbles disappear soon after they move
away from the hot surface as a result of heat transfer from the bubbles to the cooler liquid surroundings
them. This happens when the bulk of the liquid is at a lower temperature than saturation temperature.
The bubbles serve as “energy movers” from the hot surface into the liquid body by absorbing heat from

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the hot surface and realising it into the liquid as they condense and collapse. Boiling in this case is
confined to a region in locality of the hot surface and is called local or subcooled boiling.
when the entire liquid body reaches the saturation temperature, the bubble starts rising to the top. Bubbles
can be observed throughout the bulk of the liquid. Boiling in this case is called as Bulk or Saturated
boiling.
Pool boiling: Consider the boiling of tap water in a pan using stove. the water will initially be at about
25oC, far below the saturation temperature of 100oC at standard atmospheric pressure. At the early stages
of boiling, we can observe some bubbles sticking to the surface of the pan, these bubbles are caused by
the release of air molecules dissolved in liquid water and not the vapor bubbles. As water temperature
rises, we can observe chunks of liquid water rolling up and down as a result of natural convection
currents, followed by the first vapor bubbles forming at the bottom surface of the Pan. These bubbles
become smaller as they detach from the surface and start rising and eventually collapses in the cooler
water above. This is subcooled boiling, since the bulk of the liquid water has not yet reached the
saturation temperature. The intensity of bubble formation increases, as the water temperature rises
further, we can notice waves of vapor bubbles coming from the bottom and rising to the Top, when the
water temperature reaches the saturation temperature. This full-scale boiling is called saturated boiling.

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Boiling Regimes and the Boiling Curve

III
V
IV
I II

LOG-LOG PLOT, Fig: Typical boiling curve for water at 1atm.

The pioneering work on boiling was done in 1934 by S Nukiama, who used electrically heat heated
nichrome and platinum wires immersed in liquids in his experiments. He noticed that boiling takes
different forms, depending on the value of the excess temperature ΔTexcess. Four different boiling
regimes are observed:
Natural convection boiling
Nucleate boiling
Transition boiling
Film boiling
Natural convection boiling: [From thermodynamic background, a pure substance at a specified pressure
starts boiling when it reaches the saturation temperature at the pressure. But in practice, no bubbles will
be observed forming on the heating surface until the liquid is heated few degrees above the saturation
temperature (about 2 to 6 oC for water). Therefore, the liquid is slightly separated in this case (a
metastable condition) and evaporates when it rises to the free surface. The fluid motion in this mode of
boiling is governed by natural convection currents, and heat transfer from the heating surface to the fluid
is by natural convection].
In the above figure region I is the free convection zone, where the excess temperature is very small.
There is no boiling. The liquid is slightly found to be superheated in the immediate vicinity of the well.
The superheated liquid rises by natural convection to the surface, where evaporation occurs.

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Nucleate boiling: Nucleate boiling exist in regions II and III. As the excess temperature is increased,
the boiling pressure enters the region A-B-C. This is divided into two regions, in the region II bubbles
form at the nucleation sites on the surface and the bubble rises through the liquid. As the temperature of
the surface is increased further, bubbles form more rapidly with increasing excess temperature as
indicated in region III. Region II and III represent the nucleate boiling regime. with further increase in
excess temperature. The rate of formation of bubbles will be so high that the bubbles blanket the heating
surface and heat flux reduces. The heat flux reaches a maximum value at a particular excess temperature,
this maximum heat flux is called critical heat flux and occurs at critical excess temperature. After the
critical excess temperature, the bubble emerge into slugs form a vapor film over the heating surface.
Then heat transfer is mainly by conduction through the vapor film before the liquid can boil. Therefore,
in region IV the heat flux reduces with increasing excess temperature, and this region represents the
beginning of the film boiling regime. In the stable film boiling regime, region V, the surface temperature
required will be high for a given heat flux.
If the heating surface is an electrically heated wire, at Point ‘C’ (i.e. at critical heat flux) the wire become
unstable, since a small increase in excess temperature results in a decrease in the heat flux. If the wire is
unable to dissipate the heat flux corresponding to the critical heat flux, its temperature rises, and it melts.
Therefore Point ‘C’ on the boiling curve is called the burnout point and the heat flux at this point is the
burnout heat flux.

Most boiling heat transfer equipment in practice operate slightly below q̇max to avoid any disastrous
burnout. however, in cryogenic applications involving fluids with very low boiling points such as
oxygen and nitrogen, point E usually falls below the melting point of the heater materials, and steady
film boiling can be used in those cases without any danger of burnout.

Heat transfer correlations in Pool boiling:

Nucleate boiling: In the nucleate boiling regime, the rate of heat transfer strongly depends on the nature
of nucleation (the number of active nucleation sites on the surface, the rate of bubble formation at each
site etc.) which is difficult to predict. The type and condition of the heated surface also affect the heat
transfer. These complications made it difficult to develop theoretical relations for heat transfer in the
nucleate boiling regime and has to rely on relations based on experimental data.

1
3
g (ꝭ𝑙 −ꝭ𝑣 ) 2 CPl (Ts −Tsat )
q̇nucleate = µ𝒍 𝛌 [ ] [ ]
𝜎 Csf 𝛌Prn
l

q̇ = w/m2
µ𝑙 = viscosity of the liquid, kg/ms
λ = latent heat, J/kg
g = gravity constant m/s2

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ꝭ𝑙 = density of liquid, kg/m3

ꝭ𝑣 = density of vapor, kg/m3

𝜎 = surface tension, N/m
CPl = Specific heat of liquid, J/kg oC
Ts = Surface temperature of heater, oC
Tsat = Saturation temperature of fluid, oC
Csf = Exp. Constant that depend on surface fluid combination
Prl = Prandtl number
n = exp. constant that depends on fluid

Peak Heat Flux:

1
𝟏 1
𝟏
π𝛌 ꝭ𝑣 2
q̇max = 0.15 𝛌[σgꝭ2v (ꝭl − ꝭv )] 𝟒
= [σg(ꝭl − ꝭv )] ꝭv (1 + )
𝟒 2
𝟐𝟒 ꝭl

Zuber equation
Minimum Heat Flux:
𝟏
σg(ꝭl −ꝭv ) 𝟒
q̇min = 0.09 𝛌 [ ]
(ꝭl +ꝭv )2

Film boiling:
1
gk3v ꝭv (ꝭl −ꝭv )[λ+0.4Cpv (Ts −Tsat )] 4
q̇film = Cfilm[ ] (Ts − Tsat )
µv D(Ts −Tsat )
k v = Thermal cond. of vapor in w/moC.

Cfilm = 0.62 for horizontal cylinders

= 0.67 for spheres.

Problems
1, Water is to be boiled at atmospheric pressure in a mechanically polished stainless-steel pan placed on
top of a heating unit. The inner surface of the bottom of the pan is maintained at 108oC. If the diameter

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of the bottom of the pan is 30cm, determine a, the rate of heat transfer to the water and b, the rate of
evaporation of water.
Tsat = 100oC; Ts = 108oC.
Properties:
µ𝑙 = 0.282*10-3 kg/ms
λ = 2257*103 J/kg
ꝭ𝑙 = 957.9 kg/m3

ꝭ𝑣 = 0.6 kg/m3
𝜎 at 100oC= 0.0589 N/m
CPl = 4217 J/kg oC
Csf = 0.013 and n=1.0
Prl = 1.75

Excess temperature = 108-100 = 8o (<30oC) ⸫ Nucleate boiling will occur.

1
3
g (ꝭ𝑙 −ꝭ𝑣 ) 2 CPl (Ts −Tsat )
q̇nucleate = µ𝒍 𝛌 [ ] [ ] = 72,045 w/m2
𝜎 Csf 𝛌Prn
l

The surface area of the bottom of the pan is

π𝐷2 π(0.3)2
A= = = 0.07069m2
4 4
Then the rate of heat transfer during nucleate boiling becomes

Q̇boiling = A q̇nucleate = (0.07069)(72,045) = 5093w

b, the rate of evaporation of water is

Q̇𝑏𝑜𝑖𝑙𝑖𝑛𝑔 5093
ṁevaporation = = = 2.26*10-3 kg/s
λ 2257∗103

2. Water in a tank is to be boiled at sea level by a 1cm-diameter nickel plated heating element equipped
with electrical resistance wire inside. Determine the maximum heat flux that can be attained in the
nucleate boiling regime and the surface temperature of the heater surface in that case.
µ𝑙 = 0.282*10-3 kg/ms

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Department of Pharmaceutical Engineering
 Heat Transfer for Pharmaceutical Engineers

λ = 2257*103 J/kg
ꝭ𝑙 = 957.9 kg/m3

ꝭ𝑣 = 0.6 kg/m3
𝜎 at 100oC= 0.0589 N/m
CPl = 4217 J/kg oC
Csf = 0.013 and n=1.0
Prl = 1.75

q̇max =
sub in q̇nucleate = q̇max
det Ts.

3, water is boiled at atm pressure by a horizontal polished copper heating element of diameter D=5mm
and emissivity Ɛ =0.05 immersed in water. If the surface temperature of the heating wire is 350oC,
determine the rate of heat transfer from the wire to the water per unit length of the wire.
Tsat = 100oC
Ts = 350oC

µ𝑣 = 1.73*10-5 kg/ms
λ = 2257*103 J/kg
ꝭ𝑙 = 957.9 kg/m3

ꝭ𝑣 = 0.441 kg/m3
CPv = 1977 J/kg oC
Kv = 0.0357 w/moC

q̇film = 59,264 w/m2

Q=A q̇film = (πDL) q̇film (neglecting radiation)

q̇rad = Ɛ σ(Ts4 − Tsat

4
) T in K

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Department of Pharmaceutical Engineering