Pressure Based Prediction of Spray Cooling Heat Transfer Coefficients

An important goal of spray cooling research is the ability to predict local heat transfer coefficient from the spray hydrodynamics. It is postulated in this work that the local pressure is the controlling parameter for local heat transfer coefficient. To test this hypothesis, local pressure and heat transfer data were obtained for a 1×1, 1×2, and 2×2 arrays of hollow cone sprays at two pressures and three standoff distances. A correlation between the pressure and heat transfer coefficient was determined, then used to “predict” the heat transfer coefficient from the pressure data. The local variations in heat transfer coefficient were captured well using this technique, and the area-averaged heat transfer coefficient could be predicted within 12.6%. The technique needs to be verified with different nozzles and fluids over a wider range of conditions.