Nanofluids for power engineering: Emergency cooling of overheated heat transfer surfaces

Abstract

The possibility of emergency cooling of an overheated heat transfer surface using nanofluids in the case of a boiling crisis is explored by means of synchronous recording of changes of main heat transfer parameters of boiling water over time. Two nanofluids are tested, which are derived from a mixture of natural aluminosilicates (AlSi-7) and titanium dioxide (NF-8). It is found that the introduction of a small portions of nanofluid into a boiling coolant (distilled water) in a state of film boiling (t_heater > 500°C) can dramatically decrease the heat transfer surface temperature to 130–150°C, which corresponds to a transition to a safe nucleate boiling regime without affecting the specific heat flux. The fact that this regime is kept for a long time at a specific heat load exceeding the critical heat flux for water and t_heater = 125–130°C is particularly important. This makes it possible to prevent a potential accident emergency (heater burnout and failure of the heat exchanger) and to ensure the smooth operation of the equipment.