Numerical analysis of two-phase flow around a horizontal tube in nucleate boiling

A two-dimensional numerical algorithm for analyzing two-phase flow in boiling tube bundles was presented based on an incompressible two-fluid model. In the model, liquid and vapor are assumed incompressible, in thermal equilibrium and at uniform pressure. Governing equations were solved by a finite element method of quadrilateral elements and a Petrov-Galerkin method with an exponential weighting function. A shedding problem of air-water bubbly flow passing around a horizontal tube was analyzed to verify the algorithm. Calculated results were compared with experiments to assure their accuracy. Then two-phase flow around a single horizontal tube in saturated nucleate boiling was simulated. A qualitative agreement between the calculated how field and the experimental data suggests the applicability of the present algorithm to numerical analysis of two-phase how in tube bundles.