Experiment: Boiling Characteristics

(by group 1)

Aim:
● To find the boiling characteristics at a heated surface immersed in a fluid

Apparatus:

● 2 – propanol
● Boiler apparatus with 5 thermocouples
● Hydraulic bench unit system
● Stopwatch
● Monitoring unit with control knobs.
● Cooling section

Theory:
Boiling is a liquid-to-vapor phase change process just like evaporation, but there are significant
differences between the two. Evaporation occurs at the liquid–vapor interface when the vapor pressure
is less than the saturation pressure of the liquid at a given temperature.
Boiling, on the other hand, occurs at the solid–liquid interface when a liquid is brought into contact
with a surface maintained at a temperature Ts sufficiently above the saturation temperature Tsat of the
liquid . At 1 atm, for example, liquid water in contact with a solid surface at 110°C will boil since the
saturation temperature of water at 1 atm is 100°C. The boiling process is characterized by the rapid
formation of vapor bubbles at the solid–liquid interface that detach from the surface when they reach a
certain size and attempt to rise to the free surface of the liquid.
Boiling is classified as pool boiling or flow boiling, depending on the presence of bulk fluid motion.
Boiling is called pool boiling in the absence of bulk fluid flow and flow boiling (or forced convection
boiling) in the presence of it. 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 un- der the influence of buoyancy. The
boiling of water in a pan on top of a stove is an example of pool boiling. Pool boiling of a fluid can
also be achieved by placing a heating coil in the fluid. In flow boiling, the fluid is forced to move in a
heated pipe or over a surface by external means such as a pump. There- fore, flow boiling is always
accompanied by other convection effects.
Pool and flow boiling are further classified as subcooled boiling or saturated boiling, depending on the
bulk liquid temperature. Boiling is said to be subcooled (or local) when the temperature of the main
body of the liquid is below the saturation temperature Tsat
(i.e., the bulk of the liquid is subcooled) and saturated (or bulk) when the temperature of the liquid is
equal to Tsat (i.e., the bulk of the liquid is saturated). 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 saturation temperature. But these bubbles disappear
soon af- ter they move away from the hot surface as a result of heat transfer from the bubbles to the
cooler liquid surrounding them. This happens when the bulk of the liquid is at a lower temperature
than the saturation temperature. The bubbles serve as “energy movers” from the hot surface into the
liquid body by absorbing heat from the hot surface and releasing it into the liquid as they condense
and collapse. Boiling in this case is confined to a region in the locality of the hot surface and is
appropriately called local or subcooled boiling. When the entire liquid body reaches saturation
temperature, the bubbles start rising to the top. We can see bubbles throughout the bulk of the liquid,
and boiling in this case is called bulk or saturated boiling.
Diagram:

Procedure:

● Ensure that ON/OFF switches given on the panel are at OFF position.
● Close all the valves.
● Switch ON the main electric supply.
● Connect cooling water supply.
● Set the flow rate of cooling water by the flow control valve
● Switch ON the heater and set voltage at 120 V by variac
● Record the temperature, flow rate of cooling water, pressure, voltmeter and ammeter
reading till the steady state is reached.
● Observe boiling on the heated surface inside fluid. Record the nature of boiling on
surface of heater plate: pure liquid /small bubbles/vapor slugs.
● Repeat the steps ‘f’ to ‘h’ for different heat input by varying the voltage to the heater.
Observations:
S no. V I Steady T1 T2 T3 T4 T5 F(LPH) P(bar)
o o o o o
(Volt) (Amp) state C C C C C
(yes/no)
1 120.0 0.921 yes 82.0 73.2 34.4 34.5 34.6 35 0.132
2 124.7 0.955 yes 82.1 73.7 35.0 35.3 34.8 35 0.134
3 129.4 0.986 yes 82.1 74.4 35.0 36.1 35.5 35 0.135
4 135.1 1.032 yes 82.3 74.7 36.9 37.1 36.3 35 0.137
 5 140.0 1.070 yes 82.4 74.9 37.3 37.7 36.6 35 0.137
T1 = Surface temperature of heater
T2 = Temperature of liquid
T3 = Cooling water inlet temperature
T4 = Cooling water outlet temperature
T5 = Temperature of vapor.

Calculations:
Heat supplied to the heater Q = V × I watts
Heat flux q = Q/A
where A = πDL m2
D = diameter of heater = 0.0463 m
L = length of heater = 0.128 m
Area = πDL = 3.14*0.0463*0.128
= 0.0186 m2
Consider Antoine’s equation:
Log10(P) = A – (B/C+T)
Tsat is the saturation pressure of the liquid at pressure P bar.
Antone’s equation constraints for 2- propanol are
A = 16.6796
B= 3640.20
C=219.610
o Ist Reading:
a. Q = 110.52Watts
b. q=Q/A=5941.93W/m2
c. Tsat = 287.49K
d. T1 – Tsat = 67.66 K
Similarly,
Observation No T1(C) Tsat(C) T1-Tsat(C) Heat Flux(in W/m2)

1 82.0 14.34 67.66 5941.93

2 82.1 14.44 67.66 6402.15

3 82.1 14.49 67.61 6859.59

4 82.3 14.58 67.72 7495.87

5 82.4 14.58 67.82 8053.76

Graph:
 RESULT:

We observe that as heat is constantly supplied, the three boiling characteristics are
observed. First, we observe pure liquid for some time initially, then we see small bubbles
forming gradually and later see vapor slugs formation.

DISCUSSION:
We observe that the graph of q vs (T - Tsat) is not perfectly linear. This is because the process
is not undergoing pure convection, due to the formation of bubbles.
References:
● Heat and Mass Transfer by Y A Cengel and A J Ghajar.

CONTRIBUTION:

NAME ROLL NUMBER CONTRIBUTION

ABHISHEK ANAND CH21B002 25%

CH21B003 25%
ABHISHEK SORAHIA

ADARSH DWIVEDI CH21B004 25%