Experiments on subcooled flow boiling in I.C. engine-like conditions at low flow velocities

Abstract

[EN] Subcooled boiling flow is specially attractive for engine cooling system design, as no essential changes in its architecture are required while it is still possible to take advantage of the highest rates of heat transfer associated with nucleate boiling, mostly at high engine loads. In this paper, experiments on subcooled boiling flow in representative temperature conditions were conducted with a usual engine coolant in the low velocity range, for which little information is available, even if it may be relevant when advanced thermal management strategies are used. The results were analyzed by comparison with a reference Chen-type model which provided reasonable results for relatively low wall temperatures, but with noticeable discrepancies at higher wall temperatures. Analysis of the deviations observed indicated a significant influence of the Prandtl number on the suppression factor, and the inclusion into the model of a first estimate of this effect produced a noticeable improvement in its results, thus suggesting that one such modified additive model may be useful for practical engine cooling applications. (C) 2013 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.