A note on the Chen correlation of saturated flow boiling heat transfer

•Surveys parametric equations for factors F and S in the Chen correlation.•Indicates some typos and less–accurate curve fittings for factors F and S.•Recommends the best-fit parametric equations for factors F and S.•Provides a reference for the correct use of the Chen correlation.

The Chen (Ind. Eng. Chem. Process Des. Dev., 1966, 5(3): 322–329) correlation of saturated flow boiling heat transfer is one of the most influential flow boiling heat transfer correlations. It adopted the additive concept and incorporated the Reynolds number factor F and the suppression factor S. Chen presented F and S as the best-fit curves without any parametric equation. However, the parametric equations of F and S were widely used in citing the Chen work, among which some were not accurate, and some had typos in the original sources and then used by others. The objective of this paper is to point out the incorrect and inaccurate equations in the literature. For this purpose, the existing expressions of F and S in the available literature are presented and compared with the Chen best-fit curves. The work provides a reference for the correct use of the Chen correlation.