Modelling of a cross flow evaporator for CSP application: Analysis of the use of different two phase heat transfer and pressure drop correlations

Heat exchangers consisting of bundles of horizontal plain tubes with boiling on the shell side are widely used in industrial and energy systems applications. A recent particular specific interest for the use of this special heat exchanger is in connection with Concentrated Solar Power (CSP) applications. Heat transfer and pressure drop prediction methods are an important tool for design and modelling of diabatic, two-phase, shell-side flow over a horizontal plain tubes bundle for a vertical up-flow evaporator. With the objective of developing a model for a specific type of cross flow evaporator for a coil type steam generator specifically designed for solar applications, this paper analyzes the use of several heat transfer, void fraction and pressure drop correlations for the modelling the operation of such a type of steam generator.

The paper after a brief review of the literature about the available correlations for the definition of two-phase flow heat transfer, void fraction and pressure drop in connection with the operation of steam generators, focuses attention on a comparison of the results obtained using several different models resulting by different combination of correlations. The influence on the analysis of the performance of the evaporator, their impact on significant design variables and the effective lifetime of critical components in different operating conditions, simulating the daily start-up procedures of the steam generator is evaluated. The importance of a good calibration of the model based on the comparison with some experimental data is recognised.