Three-dimensional simulation of saturated film boiling on a horizontal cylinder

Three-dimensional simulations of film boiling on a horizontal cylinder have been performed. A finite difference method is used to solve the equations governing the conservation of mass, momentum and energy in vapor and liquid phases. A level set formulation for tracking the liquid–vapor interface is modified to include the effect of phase change at the liquid–vapor interface and to treat the no-slip condition at the fluid–solid interface. From the numerical simulations, the effects of cylinder diameter and gravity on the interfacial motion and heat transfer in film boiling are quantified. The heat transfer coefficients obtained from numerical analysis are found to compare well with those predicted from empirical correlations reported in the literature.