Bundle effect on a helical coil in liquid nitrogen with pool boiling for liquid oxygen densification

Abstract

The need to densify oxidizers using cryogenic fluids is increasing to enhance the performance of launch vehicles. One of the most practical methods for oxidizer densification is heat exchange cooling between liquid oxygen and liquid nitrogen, typically using a tube bundle heat exchanger. Due to the multiple tubes in the bundle, a bundle effect arises, which enhances convective heat transfer by inducing liquid agitation from bubble generation and rising. This paper presents experimental results and prediction models that account for bubble behavior in a tube bundle. The experiment is conducted with saturated liquid nitrogen in a pool at atmospheric pressure and helical coil-type heat exchangers instead of a traditional tube bundle stack heat exchanger. Liquid oxygen densification is achieved by varying mass flow rates and inlet temperatures. Single-passage helical coils made of copper are used to minimize uncertainty from maldistribution flow and reduce thermal resistance compared to convective heat transfer coefficients in the inner and outer tubes. The coils, with an outer diameter of 12.7 mm, were tested in both vertical and horizontal directions and with various coil pitches. The bundle effect was clearly observed under helical coil conditions, and the experiment confirmed that the convective heat transfer coefficient increased with increasing heat flux and bubble generation rate. The prediction models considering bubble behavior—rising and generation rate—were validated by comparison with experimental results. The forced convective Nusselt number, experimentally measured to range from 23 to 361 through its correlation with the Boiling Reynolds number, closely followed the predicted correlation curve of the bubble generation model. It demonstrated a mean absolute error of 83.3, a standard deviation of 65.6, and an average relative error of 64.8 %. These values show improved accuracy compared to the relative errors of two predicted curves in the bubble rising model: 216 % for the single circular tube correlation and 381 % for tube bank correlations. This improvement suggests that the increased bubble generation rate with heat flux is better reflected for liquid oxygen densification with a helical coil submerged in large-scale static pool condition.