Evaluation of methods for prediction of evaporation from water pools

Calculation of evaporation is needed in many applications including swimming pools, water reservoirs, nuclear fuel pools, pools for rejection of heat from refrigeration systems, process tanks, etc. Hence accurate methods for prediction of evaporation are needed. Many prediction methods have been published including analytical models and empirical correlations. In the present study, 18 published prediction methods are compared to a very wide-ranging database which includes data from laboratory scale studies, swimming pools, and fuel pools in nuclear power plants. The data are from 25 sources. The range of data includes air temperatures from 6°C to 200°C, water temperatures from 7.1°C to 94.2°C, relative humidity from 0.21% to 98%, and air velocity from 0 to 8.5 m/s. The accuracy of prediction methods is examined for conditions in which natural convection dominates, that in which forced convection dominates, and that in which natural convection is absent. The results are reported and discussed. Recommendations are made for application.