Heat Transfer during Spray Cooling of Flat Surfaces with Water at Large Reynolds Numbers

We present a new Nusselt number correlation for spray cooling at large Reynolds numbers and high surface temperatures for water sprays impinging perpendicularly onto a flat plate. A large set of experimental data on spray cooling of hot surfaces with water has been analyzed, including the water temperature effects. For large-scale cooling, such as in industrial processes, large number of injection parameters such as number, type, pressure, and angle of the spray injection has led to a multitude of correlations that are difficult for general and practical applications. However, by synthesizing a set of experimental data where all of the above parameters have been varied, we find that the Nusselt number and therefore the heat transfer coefficient can be cast accurately as a function of the Reynolds number. Water is widely used as the coolant during spray cooling, and has a specific phase change characteristic. At large Reynolds number (Re > 100,000) and surface temperature (Ts > 600°C) ranges, which are of interest in large-scale spray cooling, the effect of water temperature is quite significant as it affects the film boiling close to the surface. This effect also has been parameterized using experimental data.