CROSS-SECTIONAL AND LONGITUDINAL HEAT TRANSFER VARIATIONS IN A REBOILER TUBE BUNDLE SECTION.

Experimental research on the heat transer and fluid flow distribution in a thin slice (25 mm) of a reboiler tube bundle has been reported previously. A thick slice (183 mm) was constructed to provide data on local longitudinal effects, to examine the nature of the flow and check the thin section results. Cross-sectional h-values correlate with previous work but show a decreasing tendency to fluctuate with height through the bundle as the measuring position is moved away from the front face of the boiling cell. The mean values decrease towards the longitudinal center-line, indicating that the thin-section results are likely to be rather higher than those expected in a real reboiler. There is negligible difference in heat tranfer between the in-line and rotated-square cases. The vertical liquid temperature through the bundle was determined and the effect of local saturation temperature is discussed.