New analysis of textured surfaces could lead to more efficient, and less dangerous, power plants.
Source: Bubble, bubble … boiling on the double | MIT News
CAMBRIDGE, Mass.—The boiling of water is at the heart of many industrial processes, from the operation of electric power plants to chemical processing and desalination. However, the details of what happens on a hot surface as water boils have been poorly understood, so unexpected hotspots can sometimes melt expensive equipment and disable plants. Researchers at MIT have studied what causes this extreme heating—which occurs when a value known as the critical heat flux (CHF) is exceeded—and how to prevent it. They say this new insight could make it possible to operate power plants at higher temperatures and thus significantly higher overall efficiency. “Roughly 85% of the worldwide installed base of electricity relies on steam power generators, and in the U.S. it’s 90%,” said study coauthor Kripa Varanasi, Ph.D., associate professor of mechanical engineering at MIT. The research is published in the journal Nature Communications.
